Primrose
by Blazeraptor54
Summary: After the battle with Kaguya, a battered and broken Naruto is nursed back to health. Naruto struggles to adapt to the fact that he is stuck with no way home, and that he is truly for the first time in his life alone. Taking it in stride can our blonde hero find his path in this world? Maybe he'll have some help along the way after all? (Perfect Time Remake.)
1. Season One Episode One: Naruto Uzumaki

_(My recommendation if you listen to music is to look up Blue Skies (Infinity Remix.) Since it is the theme song to this story and the opening battle song…you'll know._

 _This is the remake of Perfect Time. Primrose)_

What drives someone to do the impossible?

Need, ambition, or is it destiny?

Fate even?

Odds were that the impossible would remain such, impossible. The toppling of a Goddess, impossible, until today. With a thunderous boom, the loud crack of lightning, and the howling of a Goddess turned Demoness. The answer to that question was becoming clear.

Love.

A youth with a golden cloak covering everything but his face flew. He dodges several beams of purple light as a woman with lavender eyes, and the third eye in her forehead aimed at him. Her long kimono fluttered in the winds, the white fabric betrayed the dark heart of the wearer.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, The Rabbit Goddess, The Demoness. She flails storms, she crushed mountains, bent reality to her whim. Yet, she couldn't bend the will of Naruto Uzumaki. The person she was fighting now, he flew around using powers he himself barely understood and dodged anything she threw at him.

Suddenly he throws something from his hand, a knife? All three of her eyes widened as the knife sailed past her and he appeared just behind her. A mighty kick sent her sprawling downward. Her eyes wide with pain, despite her healing factor making sure she wasn't seriously injured.

Slamming into the earth below, purple grass fluttered across the ground from the impact winds. Landing on the ground, Naruto Uzumaki grunts as he breathed hard. She slowly got back up to her feet, floating up from the ground when she did.

"Had enough?" Naruto shot at her, "because I'm just warming up."

"Bravado, incarnate of Ashura, will only get you so far. Your friend, the incarnation of Indra, is out of power. You, all alone, like you always were. Tell me, Uzumaki Naruto, what does it feel like to hold infinite power inside of you?" Kaguya floats toward him slowly, "what does it feel like to be a Kami?"

"I'm not a Kami," Naruto stated as he got ready. "My power comes from those that I call my friends, your power is just stolen!"

Kaguya charges at him, both clash in a massive blast of power. An ethereal fist crashes against golden one, with Naruto and her locking eyes. The pressure wave flattens the land around them, their fight was on whole other level. The Jinchuuriki of The Kyūbi No Yoko stood his ground as another ethereal fist was launched between them.

The teen in front of her grunts as he was pushed back from that blow. However, he suddenly jumps backs. Her eyes widened as she turns around to see several spheres of various elements heading toward her. Quickly her third eye widened, only for the spheres to turn into kunai. The kunai slammed into her arms, drawing blood.

One of the kunai suddenly had Naruto appearing beside it and grabbing from her shoulder. Without remorse, he slams the blade into her chest before kicking her away. He floats there, watching as her body pushes the rest of the blades out. Her growling and demeanor signaling a change as she rose up to face him.

There were no words as she looked right into him, then she smirks. As much as he continued to fight his chakra system was slowly, but surely, frazzling out. Giving him a dark smile, she suddenly creates several bones and shoots them at him. Not wanting to end up like Obito, Naruto dodges them. He in turns throws a Rasenshuriken at her.

The mass of chakra is ineffective as it hit her but allowed for good over for him to escape. He flew as fast as he could to where the others were. Landing down he collapsed to his knees, he looked over at Sakura who still giving Sasuke chakra.

Kakashi watches as the wind sphere began to die down, "she'll be coming soon."

"Tell me something I don't Kakashi-sensei," Naruto breathed as he tried to stand up. "I'm almost drained."

"How," Sakura asks as she looked at him, "you've got all The Nine Bijuu and then some."

Naruto takes a deep breath, "she absorbs what I throw at her, so I had to put in more effort."

She then noticed something, Naruto was bleeding from his mouth, "Naruto…you've got internal bleeding."

The incarnation of Ashura nods, "I know…I can't afford the chakra to heal myself."

"Idiot," Sakura hissed as she walks over to him, "Shōsen Jutsu!"

He felt the chakra begin to heal him, she even began to transfer chakra over to him. Slowly, he felt his body become more relaxed as Sasuke stood up. The Last Uchiha looked at Naruto, frowning as he heard the wind sphere die down.

"What's the plan," Sasuke asked as he looks Naruto, "what now?"

"Oh God, you're asking me what _we're_ going to do? Holy crap, Dattebayo, we may not actually pull this off." Naruto laughs cynically as he got up, still breathing hard.

"Giving up, dobe?" Sasuke inquired while holding out his hand.

"No way, bastard," Naruto replies as he is helped up.

Sakura watches as both walk forward, Sasuke turns to her, "get as far as you can…"

"What?" Sakura looked bewildered, "we're in this together."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto faces her when he looked over his shoulder, "we need you alive after this."

Sasuke nods, "listen to him, we're the only ones that can win this fight."

Kakashi looked at them both, they weren't going to admit it openly, but they both were low on chakra. He gets up, he could feel Obito calling out to him to stand and protect the world he cherished. Sakura didn't listen to them either, she instead stood next to Sasuke.

"You two are boneheads, the both of you. You cannot seriously think I'd let you go and throw yourselves into the fire," Sakura had tears brimming at her eyes, "and allow you to die without me at your sides."

She stands between them, "you're not the only ones…"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at her with her mouth agape as Kakashi walks to the front of them. He turns to them, smiling as he lowered his mask. Revealing his face for the first time, slowly but surely it dawns upon them all.

This was it, the final push!

Kaguya lands in front of them, her power was increasing. She looked at them, smirking, they looked ready to die. As she grew one of her ashen bones, she saw that determination, perhaps she could help them? However, what she didn't expect was Naruto allowing Kakashi and Sakura to run ahead of him and Sasuke.

 _'_ _Are they fools,'_ Kaguya throws the spears of bone, _'they'll get skewered!'_

The bones impact Kakashi and Sakura, only for them to suddenly explode. The black smoke filled the air around them as Kaguya fell into a trap. Her eyes widened when the smoke cleared to reveal hundreds of Naruto, all of them holding large Rasengan.

"Senpō: Chōōdama Rasen Tarengan!" Kaguya's eyes widened, even with so little chakra he could do this?!

She readied herself to absorb the blasts but suddenly felt something hit her back. It was Amaterasu, the flames burned heavily on her back. She was forced to shift her absorbing powers to handle it. However, that's when things started getting out of hand when she saw lightning-enhanced shuriken suddenly rush toward her, covered in black lightning.

"Kamui Shuriken!" Kakashi yells out as he appeared all around her, using shadow clones.

 _'_ _Impossible,'_ She was forced to jump up, _'how did they…when.?!'_

She shoots bones at random, determined to get collateral amongst the group. She failed to notice the Kamui enhanced shuriken impact each other, forming a large portal. Naruto's clones above her were getting destroyed left and right, but she never bothered to look down.

"Hey, your psychotic demoness!" Kaguya looks down, her eyes widened tremendously.

Dozens of small Rasenshuriken flew from the portal. Naruto's clones from above flew faster, and the Rasenshuriken from below began to grow larger. Looking for an escape Kaguya tries to form a portal to fly into only for Kamui to seal no sooner than she reaches for it.

Kakashi's right begins to bleed slightly as he watches her glare at him. He only wore a proud smirk on his face, as if he was proud to have made sure she'd suffer from fear. Indeed, Kaguya felt that fear when Naruto's attacks finally impacted.

Her Rinne-Sharingan ran wild, trying to negate, block, and absorb attacks. However, she felt various pieces of her get blown off. Blood slowly drop down from her mouth as more and more of his attacks breached.

This was impossible!

She looks around, trying to find an exit, but instead Naruto himself and Sasuke himself assisted by a Naruto clone flew toward her. Their hands with the marks were outstretched, this was it, the time was now!

Her broken body began to heal, trying to rapidly repair critical damage so she could move. It was to no avail as Naruto grabbed her right arm, and Sasuke grabbed her arm. Or so it would appear, instead, Zetsu had flowed itself around to protect its mother.

Kaguya smirks, "good job…my son."

"Now Okasan," Zetsu gleefully screams, "kill them both!"

Bone shot out from her palms, impacting both Naruto and Sasuke. However, they just both smirked before transforming into Kakashi's clones. To her added surprise both clones suddenly glow bright blue. Kaguya screams as lightning chakra coursed through her.

The real Naruto and Sasuke stood by Sakura, who looked at them, "now?"

Naruto flew up, Sasuke turned to her, "now!"

She grabs Sasuke by his arm before twirling him and throwing him. Kaguya started to recover as Naruto sent one of the spheres to Sasuke which formed into a disk he could ride on. Surfing through the air, Naruto and Sasuke both felt a sudden wave of chakra come from Kaguya.

The Demoness roars out as she powers through the lightning chakra, spotting Kakashi, "you!"

Kakashi just smirks as she sends an ashen bone toward him, only for it to phase right through. She screams in rage before her eyes focus on Naruto and Sasuke, she barely had time warp away when they got to her. However, warping behind them she found that another trap had been laid out.

Sakura was on the ground gripping chakra wire Sasuke had made, she suddenly pulls with tremendous force. The wire wraps around the Ōtsutsuki matriarch. Cutting into exposed flesh like her face, she roars as Sakura pulls tighter.

"I'm a woman too, ya know," Sakura yells up at her, "so don't you dare count me out!"

Suddenly she feels the incarnations of her grandchildren behind her, she turns her head to face them. Her eyes widened when she started forming small portals behind her to send ashen bones at them. She knew they were real, they had to be!

Sakura lets go of the wires and hurls two kunai as hard as she could!

The kunai flew fast enough to where they were right in front of her. Sasuke's Rinne-Sharingan eye widened as he grabbed Naruto. The bone was just about to scratch him when he suddenly disappeared with Naruto in tow. The woman's eyes widened when her Rinne-Sharingan was suddenly hit by two kunai. Piercing right through, she screams in pain, clutching her forehead as her healing factor pushed the kunai out. However, her most powerful asset closed, healing itself. She suddenly snaps at the feeling of someone gripping her front shoulder.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screams as his sun marks glow brightly!

"Naruto!" Sasuke roars at the same time as his best friend!

Both shout with all their worth, "Rikudō: Chibaku Tensei!"

Kaguya screams in anguish as she is sent flying up, the woman thrashes as earth cracks around the area. Slowly, but surely going upwards. Slamming into her, Naruto and Sasuke fall backward, getting caught by Kakashi as the mountains around them slammed into The Demoness.

Naruto's Six Paths Sage Mode drops as he and Sasuke land on the ground with Kakashi holding them both. The duo was breathing hard as Sasuke's Rinne-Sharingan lost its tomoe. Both looked at one another, slowly but surely, a smile formed on their faces.

Bringing up their fist Naruto and Sasuke bumped each other. Sakura looks at them, holding back tears before falling to her knees by them, wrapping her arms around both. Team Seven had just saved the entire world, not just their village.

Sasuke then spoke, "how did you know that I could teleport us both?"

"I don't know," Naruto looked at his right palm, "that mark just…told me."

"Mark?" Sasuke looks at him, his eyes widened as he looked up.

A loud explosion came across the area as the new moon that was being formed exploded!

"You've gotta be kidding me, Dattebayo…" Naruto breathed as he watches a giant white misshapen palm push a piece away.

A giant, very malformed, rabbit screams as it suddenly forms the Bijuu behind it. Only for the heads to pull themselves out and fall to the ground as the beasts. They all looked weaken, tired, Kurama was the only one conscious.

The Kyūbi No Yoko looked at Naruto, **"brat…get out of here."**

"Kurama, guys, what's going on?" Naruto questions them, looking for signs of any movement.

 **"** **Kitten, Kaguya forced our chakra into her system. She broke the seal, now her own chakra is running wild, she can't even contain it. Her intent is to start anew, she is going to destroy all dimensions."** Matatabi answers as she raised her head up, **"There's nothing we can do…"**

Suddenly the rabbit's mouth opened and kept opening like a snake until a large black ball of chakra formed. It was like the sphere Naruto had behind him, and it just kept growing, consuming chakra around it.

Massive entity collapsed into this black ball of energy, it crackled with purple lightning as everyone felt reality distort around them. The skies all began to crackle with purple lightning, what was dark blue was slowly becoming a sickening yellow. Naruto looked at Sakura, then at Sasuke, Kakashi looked defeated.

"No," Naruto squeezes his hands to the point they started bleeding. "I refuse that, I refuse to believe there's nothing we can't do!"

Naruto looks right at Sasuke, "we're going to do the sealing Jutsu again!"

"Naruto," Kakashi looks at him, "there's not enough chakra between either of you to do that."

"I don't care!" Naruto screamed as he walks forward, "I'm not going to let some power-hungry demoness destroy all that I care about!"

 **"** **Tell me Ashura, tell me Indra, how does it feel to be powerless? Trapped, without a way to save all that you built, all that was yours!"** Kaguya's voice boomed across the area, heavy in tone like a demon.

The Uzumaki stares right up at her, his anger breaks as Six Path's Sage Mode explodes around him. He roars as he starts absorbing any nature chakra around him, grunting as his hands started to glow brighter. Sasuke watches with Rinnegan as Naruto's chakra system began to tear itself apart, he saw the inner gates start to break open.

"You idiot stop, you're going to kill yourself!" Sasuke screams as Naruto's rage exploded around him.

The blonde flew toward Kaguya, "I will not let you destroy all that I love!"

Kaguya's form shifts back into her original form, just in time to point a palm toward Naruto and blast him with a wave of chakra. The incarnation of Ashura flew back, crashing into the ground as the chakra washed over him. It ends soon afterward, leaving him with burns as he struggled to stand back up.

The Demoness sneers at him, **"know your place, animal."**

Naruto punched the ground, charging back up fast as he could, "shut up with your lofty bullshit!"

"You say we're thieves, but I saw the people that took! The people that you force fed that damn tree with, you're nothing but a monster!" Naruto claps his hands together as a battle avatar formed over him in the likeness of Kurama, "and I'm going to put you down!"

 **"** **Many have tried,"** Kaguya readied another wave of chakra, **"all of them became one with me."**

The last Uzumaki screams as he flew toward her, intent to use his avatar as a shield. Kaguya merely chuckled as she dialed up the power of her energy wave, the blast echoed as it launched. Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto's avatar broke immediately on impact.

He almost took the full power, falling toward the ground as he covered in white light. Kaguya laughs manically, watching as Naruto struggled to stand back up. However, something was off, he should've been turning into ash!

Instead, adamantine chains covered him, and she swore she saw a redheaded woman in the light with him.

Naruto knew this warmth, "Okasan?"

Kushina Uzumaki looked right into her son's eyes, "Naruto…"

She smiles at him, "I'm proud of you…everyone is…"

Naruto thought of everyone, slowly feeling something enter him. He saw multiple streams of chakra, all of them like palms laying on him. He looked at Kushina, her own chakra was flowing into him.

* * *

Hagaromo was staring at Shinju, it began to move as cocoons began to fall and hit the ground. His eyes widened, he still didn't have his seals back. Watching as one opened, revealing the form of one Hinata Hyuuga he noticed the glowing of her right palm.

That's when he saw streams of their chakra began to flow toward the sky, _'can you feel them Naruto…they're breaking the dream…they're giving you one last chance.'_

Hagaromo gripped his staff, _'make it count!'_

* * *

 **"** **That chakra is mine, give it to me, give it to me!"** Kaguya screams as she thrashed about, slamming more waves of chakra down on Kushina's spirit.

The redhead winces as she looks at her only child, "Naruto…they're giving you one last chance."

"We can't do the sealing Jutsu," Naruto lamented as he felt began to power back up to his fullest. "Without the moon…"

"Then the sun must wash away," Naruto's eyes widened when he heard his mother interrupt him, "it must wash away the darkness."

Kaguya roars as she slams another wave of chakra down, Kushina grunts in pain, "Naruto…I have to…go…now."

Kushina's barrier began to break, she then smiles at him, "if…you don't make it, dinner will be ready."

Tears spilled from Naruto's eyes as he nodded, "okay Okasan…I love you."

"I love you too," her spirit disappears as her barrier breaks, _"tell that dumb fox to help you out…"_

 **"** **Kushina…?"** Kurama looked down and saw a little bit of her chakra enter him, jump-starting his own system again.

He grunts as he felt himself get washed with the same type of chakra, he felt Naruto getting, **"Naruto!"**

The white light washes over Naruto as he stood there, he felt no pain.

 **"** **Naruto!"**

The white light grew intensity, yet the only light shining through was the golden chakra inside of him.

 **"** **NARUTO!"**

Naruto breaks the white light, Kaguya's eyes widened as the sphere continued to grow behind her. Standing where her light burned the earth black was Naruto, covering in a golden light, new Gudōdama. Something began to shift though, the teen had not nine spheres, but ten.

Slowly, but surely, he walks from the blackened earth as Kurama joined his side. Outstretching his right fist Kurama bumps it before flowing into Naruto. His power increased dramatically as a result. Kaguya looked down at him, she could see chakra streams going into him instead of her!

 **"** **What is the meaning of this?!"** She screams as Naruto took a deep breath, **"tell me!"**

"The Shinobi World is free; your light doesn't work anymore…or should I say your dream world is no more. _We_ are Shinobi," Naruto spoke for everyone as he pointed to his chest with his thumb, "and out Nindō is never back down or submit."

He glared right at her, "especially to monsters like you!"

Crouching down Naruto looks over at Sasuke and Sakura, he gives them a smile. Sasuke recognized that smile, he gets up to stop Naruto only for the blonde to fly straight up. A trail of light flowing from him, as if he was a shooting star in a night sky.

The sky darkens as Naruto notice the sphere reaching critical mass, using his ten spheres he sends eight of them down toward the other Bijuu. Slowly the chakra from the spheres leaked into them, each of them glowing golden in color as they woke up and stood up.

Matatabi who had been struggling before stands up, **"kitten…"**

Another sphere lands on the ground forming Kurama, who looked confused as he felt slightly drained again. He saw the other Bijuu, his brothers and sisters, with the same glow. They all looked at one another, confused until the tenth sphere formed a clone.

"Guys," the sphere clone looked at them, "I'm going to take Kaguya inside of the sphere. You need to work in conjunction with Sasuke and Kakashi to bend space and time around the sphere."

 **"** **Form a blackhole basically?"** Son Goku asks.

The sphere clone nods, "yes, and don't let up! If the Sun and Moon cannot seal away the darkness, then The Sun shall wash it all away."

 **"** **Naruto…you'll…"** Kurama felt something from his eyes, **"die…"**

"I know…" Sasuke looked on the verge of tears as he watches the actual Naruto fly toward Kaguya still, dodging light beam after light beam.

Naruto's clone looks at Sasuke and Sakura, "I love you both…"

"Sakura, when we were kids, I mistook the love I felt for you like something like romantic, but I just…" Naruto's clone started to falter a little bit, "I love you like the sister I always wanted."

"Naruto…you don't have to do this!" Sakura yells as she watches him fly off.

The clone shook his head, "I have too…this is for _our_ world."

Sasuke didn't hide his tears, he looked right at Naruto, "why you?"

"Because it was always going to be me," Naruto's clone gave a toothy smile. "I never back down, I never quit, and in the end…"

* * *

 _Naruto and Sasuke clash Jutsu. The waves of power wash the area in bright light._

* * *

 _The blonde and Hyuuga heiress sat near a swing set. He comforts her as she had just gotten bullied for her eye color again._

* * *

 _Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto all jumped out of a window. Iruka was in hot pursuit of them all, irritated that they were once again skipping class._

* * *

 _Shion and Naruto descend into the volcano holding hands and forming a joint Rasengan to defeat an ancient demon._

* * *

 _Kakashi and Naruto clash Rasengan._

* * *

 _Kushina and Minato cuddle a newborn blonde infant._

* * *

 _Iruka smiled as he hands Naruto his first bowl of ramen, smiling as he let the child wear his headband._

* * *

 _Hundreds, thousands, of people stood behind Naruto Uzumaki. Every one of them had chakra flowing into him, his own chakra system was burning out. He was burning, but those flames didn't hurt, they pushed him._

 _The Sun was rising…_

* * *

"My definition of Shinobi is the same as family," Naruto's clone's glare fixated right on Sasuke. "That's why I knew you were in trouble…because the real you would never become like Kaguya is now."

"Dobe…" Sasuke mumbles as he reaches out to him, "don't…"

Naruto's clone smiled, "see you around Sasuke…and thank you."

The clone begins to fade, "now go do your job idiot, I love you, Nīsan."

"NARUTO NO!" Sasuke screams as the clone fades away.

* * *

The bright shooting star slammed into the dark Goddess. It sends them both flying into the dark sphere, slowly the sphere began to contort. Inside of it, nothing but white light, Kaguya flies toward the top to escape only for Naruto to appear in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Naruto punches her down before reappearing below her.

Suddenly he smirked as chains emerged from him, wrapping themselves around her. The woman thrashes about, screaming her head off as she tries to break free. The Demoness growls, trying to produce ashen bones but found that her own power was draining quickly.

The sphere was absorbing both of their chakras, "no…you'll kill us both you fool!"

"I know," Naruto wrapped the chains tightly around himself as well to make sure she couldn't get out, "but that's fine…"

"Why would you go so far for the very people that hated you!" Kaguya questions him as the sphere began to echo.

Naruto chuckles a little bit, "those very people saved me from myself…I don't know what will happen next. However, I do know that I've lived a good seventeen years, unlike you."

"Naraku has a special place for people like," the blonde's Six Path's Sage Mode ends as the sun mark on his palm mark disappears. "I don't know about me, but I know you'll suffer for all the pain you've caused."

"To think…I…the mother of all chakra," she growled. "Defeated by a fragment of it."

"I'm no fragment," a loud boom echoed around them. "Make peace Kaguya…you don't have long to do so."

"I will come back, I will come back and take what is mine!" She screams as the sphere collapsed around them.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes bled as he fell to his knees, his own palm mark disappears. The sphere explodes, only to collapse in on itself as Kakashi's eyes bled all the same as Sasuke's. The Bijuu held their palms out to the sphere, slowly the sky darkened around them.

Sakura was sobbing as she places her hands on their backs, "Naruto…"

They suddenly felt something pull them away as the darkness grew around them, appearing in front of everyone as they began to wake up at the giant tree. Hinata's eyes widened as Hagaromo frowned, he saw that Naruto wasn't among them.

"What happened?" Hagaromo asks.

"Naruto," Sasuke started as he looked at Hinata and then faded away. "I'm so sorry…"

Hinata lowers her head as Kiba stands by her, her other teammate Shino does as well. Slowly, it dawned upon Minato at what just happened, and he sighed. He watches as Hinata collapsed, sobbing, he looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha was sobbing as well, punching the ground.

"Don't weep," Sasuke looked at Minato. "You'll tarnish his memory, Sasuke-kun."

Minato looks at Hinata, "and you need to be strong. My son wouldn't want you anyone to break down over him, instead celebrate the gift he gave us…"

Bee looks at Minato, "your kiddo was awesome, yo, world-class to the max. He even gave old Madara Uchiha that ax."

The Edo Tensei just laughs a little bit, "I know…and for the first time I get to sit down with him and have dinner."

Hagaromo took a deep breath as he opened his eyes, "I should be going…Sasuke."

Sasuke stood up, looking at the sage, "what is it?"

"Do not follow the path of my eldest son, even it seems like the world won't get along with a gentle hand. A gardener can only cultivate life, move it in the right direction when required if he tries to force it…" Hagaromo looked right into Sasuke's soul, "that very life would die."

Frowning, Sasuke looked around, "I don't think I'll be alive to even try anything."

"I doubt that," The Sage said. "Because without you this world would've died as well."

Sasuke sighs, "can I really…amount to what he left behind?"

Hagaromo lowered down to the ground before holding out his staff, "only one way to find out."

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly opened as he looks around, "Okasan…Otosan…"

Taking a deep breath, the blonde looks at the darkness he was floating, he could feel his heartbeat. When he died before getting Ashura's powers, he didn't feel his heart. He was still alive, how, he could never know. The teen grimaced as he tried to move his arms, he looks at them, they were both black and blue.

It was hell, the pain was searing and hot. Taking another labored breath Naruto then smirked when he saw Kaguya's lifeless body floating by him. Seemingly lifeless anyway, he watches as she turns over. She had a shocked expression plastered all over her face.

"Oi," Naruto calls out to her, "you dead…or what?"

Suddenly her left eye moved to look at him, making him scream, "are you kidding me right now Dattebayo?!"

"You…little…thief." Kaguya reaches out to him, "how dare…you."

 _'_ _Not good, she can heal and warp dimensions, think of something…anything!'_ Naruto had a lightbulb moment and formed a Rasengan in his right hand.

Except it didn't work, he couldn't form chakra. By the looks of it, neither could Kaguya, for all her anger she seemed just as badly damaged if not a little more. Zetsu wasn't anywhere near her, but Naruto knew he didn't escape the blast, more than likely vaporized or cannibalized by his own mother to survive.

Kaguya struggled to look at him, but she had a sneer on her face, "led…a good life huh? Then why are you in Naraku with me?"

"Pfft," Naruto rolls his eyes, "passing by, thought I'd give you one last send-off."

"You're a terrible liar," she admitted as she looked at him. "Because even I don't know where we are."

"Well hooray for me then, Dattebayo. I'm more than happy to slowly die here if it means you suffer just a little bit more," Naruto says to her, nothing but malice in his voice, "you deserve it for everything."

"Oh please…spare me." Kaguya replied as she glared at him, "you're no more a victim than a thief."

"My parents, my clan, my friends, and my entire race suffered under you. You're a demoness, and all for what? Because someone hurt you, you act like that the only person that mattered was yourself. Well, look where that got you, floating in here with dumb o'l motormouth me." Naruto continues to ramble, "ain't karma something else?"

"Silence!" Kaguya yells as she looks down on him from where she started to float above him.

"Screw you!" Naruto screams as he flicks her off, attempting to raise his hand as well.

He grunts in pain, "when my arms heal up before I starve to death, I'm going pound some sense into your dumbass head!"

Kaguya just looks at him, "you're very uncouth."

"What the hell does _uncouth_ mean, smelly? I've been fighting a literal war for three days straight, of course, I'm going to stink!" Naruto yells as he glares at her.

The Rabbit Goddess just had her right twitch, "it means you're very rude."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Naruto then realized what he said. "Why the hell am I sorry, Dattebayo?!"

Pinching her nose Kaguya just looked down at him, "if Gods truly exist this is torture enough…"

"Well…" Naruto looks away, "I can't move…and you're not exactly any much better than I am."

"What are you suggesting, thief?" Kaguya inquires.

"I'm just saying either we float here in silence, possibly starve to death. Because you can't activate your third eye, thank you Sakura, and just complain about how much life completely sucks." Naruto then looked her right in the eye, "or we could just float here and make _peace_ with ourselves and then starve to death."

"I don't like either scenario," Kaguya grumbled as she looked down at him. "Both end in something I much rather avoid."

"Coward," Naruto bashed her as he glared right at her. "You're a frigging coward, you're so scared of a challenger you tried to literally eat the world, and you even tried to kill your own children."

"Don't you know how much of a blessing a child is," Naruto growled as he felt anger boil inside of him. "In your name, I can name several dozen children that lost their lives, name a few more who were forced to be Jinchuuriki, and then we come back to you…how many?"

"I don't know what you're getting at…" before she could finish the death glare got to her, "thousands…"

"And there it is," Naruto just spat in her direction, but it just flopped back down on his face. "Eww…anyway, wanna know what my parents got?"

"Do I care?" Kaguya questioned him.

"One minute," her eyes looked right at him, "they got one minute. One minute before Black Zetsu put his manipulation of Obito to the fullest."

Naruto then just furrowed his eyes at her, "as much as I hate you, I think I pity you more."

"Oh?" She hums.

"I think I can see it, you were probably hurt so bad tha you never wanted to be hurt again. Which is why you ate the fruit. So that you can stop the pain…but in the end," Naruto sighed as he looked at the void. "You only created more."

Naruto bit his lip, "I grew up being hurt by others. Constantly, never-ending, most of my earliest memories was always someone walking in a room…checking my seal…and then just walking back out."

"The Sandaime Hokage, Jiji, as I called him at the beginning just dropped off living expenses. There was one time in my life I went an entire month without food from the village because some sorry bastard stole what little I had," Naruto then closed his and relaxed. "But I still fought to protect my village."

'Why?" Kaguya inquires as she started to feel something, "you don't make sense…you had all the power to…"

"Destroy everything," Naruto interjected. "Yeah, I could've easily met Kurama and just…go wild. Part of me every day for the longest time wished that he destroyed the entire village, but the very few friends I made…"

"Made me happy," Naruto remembered Ayame and Teuichi Ichiraku, and Iruka.

Chuckling, that's all she could hear before he looked at her, "mind telling me what's so funny?"

"Now that I think about it," he laughed. "My weakest Jutsu worked on you."

"And that would be?" Kaguya scuffs as she glared at him.

"Someone has a dirty mind," Naruto teases as he hinted at it.

"I…you…that…THAT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS COMPLETELY RANDOM!" She screams at him with her cheeks flustered, "who even does that during a fight, ignorant little fox child!"

"Dumb bunny," Naruto shot back, "I guess its irony that you lost to me, considering foxes eat rabbits Dattebayo."

She just sighs, "okay fine…you're right…I got distracted. Completely uncouth of you to give me a right hook afterward."

"Uncouth, sheesh just use normal words like rude." Naruto complains as he looked past her, "is that light?"

She flips over, staring up from the void, "it is…and…getting closer?"

"Well, I'll be damned, I just may get out of this yet." Naruto laughs before focusing, "that isn't light!"

"Huh?" she looks at him, "then what…did you hear that?! Who are you, what are you?! I am Kaguya Ōtsutsuki I am…"

She didn't even get to finish before the light hit her, it took the form a dragon that glowed purple that just snatched her in its jaws. Naruto was left mortified, he didn't even mean to reach out for her. The strangest thing there was no blood, no gore, just one minute of her being there and the next totally gone.

"Aw crap," Naruto chattered in fear. "I'm seriously going out as food, really Dattebayo!"

 _"_ _We have judged you,"_ Naruto flips over using all his will power, _"Child of Hope."_

A golden dragon flowed toward Naruto, his eyes widened as it opened its maws. He was powerless to stop it!

A silvery light filled his vision.

* * *

He felt cold air rushing over him, looking around he saw that he was falling. He almost wanted to celebrate, but the cold air made him rethink that celebration. It hit, reality did anyway. The blonde flips in the air, unable to control himself as he looked down to see a nearby river of sorts.

There was a heavy amount of sand all around him to boot, and he noticed that a broken moon hung high in the sky. Screaming as he fell, the blonde lands in the small oasis before floating back up to the top.

Floating there, he just looks up at the broken moon before closing his eyes.

 _'_ _Kurama…'_ Naruto mentally calls out for his friend, _'where are you when I need you buddy, Dattebayo…"_

The splashing and wind made the water flow him to its shoreline. He rests his head on the mud, laying there he fails to hear the shouting of some people.

Uzumaki Naruto was still alive!


	2. Season One Episode Two: Back At It

A caravan of people had been walking through the hot desert sun, with night soon coming upon them. They had very little, being escorted by students of Lower Shade Academy. Passing near an oasis to collect some water for them and their beasts of labor, they only heard the crackling of thunder.

Storms weren't uncommon in Autumn. Though, very few clouds hung in the air. That's when a little girl spots something that falls into the oasis. Her cries for help caused the students to run over toward the fallen object.

They found that it was a person, heavily injured. The doctor of the caravan ordered that he brought to him immediately to her tent they had begun to set up. She had no medical equipment, instead relying on her ability to heal others.

Placing her hands on his chest she found as an assistant cut open the fabric of clothing that he had scars. The young man may have been a recently graduated student from somewhere or simply a mercenary that had a very bad day in the office.

Judging by his whiskers she assumed that he was a Faunus, a being with an animal trait. The woman saw that he had internal bleeding, quickly she applied her aura toward his stomach. When she did, she found extensive abdominal injuries. He was barely hanging on as is, and the possible internal bleeding was not helping him either.

He grunts in pain, his blue eyes slowly opening every so often, "help…"

"We're trying to, young man," the doctor spoke with a calm voice, "please relax."

He whimpers in pain when he tries to adjust himself. That's when a wad of blood spewed from his mouth, landing on her orange tunic. She watches as his eyes roll back, going limp. Grunting, she watches him convulse before going into action.

She makes sure to clear everything away from him as he started to foam, he was suffering a massive seizure. Blood and foam formed at his mouth, leaking down the side. Every so often she would see his eyes dash back and forth, silent screams forming at his lips.

As quickly as the seizure came, however, slowly, it went. As he stops squirming as she held him down, the blonde stained red on the face, just laid there. He was breathing, not calmly, wheezing at best. There was something else, he looked like he was crying, in fact, there were tears slowly forming at his eyes and traveling downward.

His labored breathing slowly becomes more normal, she reapplies her semblance, healing him as best she could. He grunts in tremendous pain, his hands twitching, they were probably just as broken as his arms. She looks over at her assistant, the boy nods and walks over to get a syringe and fills it up with a substance.

Walking back over the teen looks at her, "doctor I got the morphine."

"Here," she grabbed one of his hands to expose a vein. "In there, hopefully, it lulls him to sleep and stops the pain."

The assistant slowly places the needle within the vein. Squeezing the plunger, the clear liquid slowly drains into his arm. The teen winces at the feeling. Naruto Uzumaki felt a slight burning sensation at his very core before slowly giving himself to the medicine. His eyes slowly closed, his head went limp as he gave slight grunts and moans of pain.

* * *

Naruto was floating in the waters of his psyche. In this long-visited place there was no longer a cage, and no longer a giant fox. The blonde just laid there, floating in the waters as they started draining. It was a sign that his chakra was running low, and he could see the busted pipes that he thought as his chakra network.

"Kurama…" Naruto whimpered out as he kept looking up toward the ceiling, "can you hear me?"

There was no answer, not even a grunt. Naruto's eyes watered as he turns his head toward the blank spot in the room. A cold came over him, it was a fearful cold, but a cold of not seeing what should be there. In his last act he made sure to give Kurama to the world, he fully expected to die.

He should've died.

Naruto closes his eyes, "I'm hurting…it hurts so much…"

"Call me an idiot," Naruto grunted out. "Tell me I'm some stupid dumbass, goddamn it, it hurts."

"Someone gave me something, I don't feel right…are they putting me down? Where am I, am I even alive…is…this just a dream?" Naruto continues to ramble before the scenery shifts around.

The ceiling opens to reveal storm clouds, rain pelts at him as he laid there. He couldn't see anyone, not Kurama, not Son Goku, and not even Matatabi. Laying there, he felt a sensation he hadn't felt in a very long time. He felt empty, but that wasn't the sensation.

He felt alone.

"This darkness," Naruto looks up and sees the storm clouds before closing them, "please…I don't want to be lost in it again…"

 _"_ _You watch, I'll be the greatest Hokage there ever was. Naruto Uzumaki, Godaime Hokage, Dattebayo!"_ Naruto's eyes snapped open to see a younger version of himself looking up at the storm clouds.

 _"_ _I'm not scared of you, I'm not afraid to fight, I'm no-ack!"_ The small blonde child is hit to the ground, Naruto watches as dark figures descend on him and beat him into the ground.

 _"_ _Kitsune Brat!"  
"Monster…"  
"Idiot…"  
"Loser…"_

Naruto grips his head, holding his ears, "shut up…"

 _"_ _You'll be forgotten!"  
"You'll be alone!"  
"You'll never be remembered!"  
"You are a failure, a failure!"  
"Useless twerp." _

"Shut up!" Naruto screams, he thrashes about in the water, "shut up!"

Naruto watches as everything fades to white, there he saw a familiar face. Hagaromo, of all people, and he was floating without his staff. The Sage of Six Paths looks toward Naruto, sighing, he brings a smile up to his face.

"Naruto-san," Hagaromo greeted the Child of Destiny with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here, I sensed that you were troubled."

"Old Man Sage," Naruto felt able to stand up, "what…is going on?"

"In due time," Hagaromo answered the blonde. "It seems that you've been called to a higher purpose."

"What do you mean," Naruto stand there before noticing something in the distance. "Who is that?"

Hagaromo turns to the figure, "that is The Light God."

"Light…God…" Naruto clutches his head, "so am I being collected since I died or something?"

"You're not dead," Naruto turns to the figure who was now suddenly standing by Hagaromo, "I merely chose you."

"Ahh," Naruto screamed as he pointed at the figure. "You were just over there, Dattebayo!"

"I am everywhere, yet I am not, the curse and blessing of being omnipresent." The God of Light stated as he folded his arms, his deerlike horns stuck up like a crown.

Naruto just blinks his eyes, "omni…what now?"

"Omnipresent," The Light God repeated, "it means to be everywhere and nowhere."

"Oh…I think I get it…" Naruto sheepishly replied while rubbing the back of his head.

The God of Light just shakes his head, "no, you do not."

"Well, I'm sorry, Dattebayo! Quite frankly I am coming to terms that I'm not dead, and I feeling this strange heat in my body. I feel like I want to puke, and then I get brought in here by Old Man Sage and now I'm dealing with someone who's probably Kaguya on steroids!" Naruto raged as he held his fist up, "so I'm sorry if I can't understand fancy words!"

Hagaromo pinches his nose, "Naruto…must you be so uncouth?"

"Gah!" Naruto grips his head, "uncouth, Omni-this, next thing you'll tell me is that this is not real and I'm just really in Naraku!"

The Light God looks at Hagaromo, "you warned me that he'd be a little unnatural for a hero."

"I warned you about other things, especially with your brother getting ahold of my mother, but my words always fell on deaf ears." Hagaromo stated to the God next to him, "Naruto-san is not without intellect, he just lacks tact."

"What the" Naruto looked around his pockets, "I was supposed to bring tic-tacs?!"

"Oh, for the love all life and creation," The Light God bemoaned as he pinched his nose. "It means you have no sense of vocabulary, no way to articulate and understand proper jargon…err wording."

"So…I'm an idiot?" Naruto questioned as he folded his arms, "well that's not very nice."

 **"** **Silence!"** The Light God's voice boomed in the void, he then took a deep breath to compose himself.

The God took a minute, "I believe that's the first time someone has ever gotten on my nerves."

"Besides the God of Darkness," Hagaromo pointed out. "Hear that over there, you're now second only to the evilest being in existence, Naruto."

Naruto rubs the back of his head, "well…Jeez, I'm sorry."

"All is forgiven, for now at least, tell me does this area suit you?" The God of Light inquires.

"Does…does it matter," Naruto sounded confused. "You mean I can choose?"

"Not you, but I know what you are thinking of." The Light God answered before holding up his right hand.

A loud snap echoed before a flood of light blinded the area.

* * *

Naruto opens his eyes, he was standing in Myoboku. The air smelt the same, the feel of the humidity and such. He saw the many waterfalls, the various forest critters. A ladybird flies up to him, landing on his finger.

Watching the insect flutter its wings Naruto didn't acknowledge Hagaromo or The Light God behind him. The teen saw everything, it was exactly like Mt. Myoboku, just no sign of any of the toads. Turning to face the two that brought him here in the first place Naruto looks on confused, he watches as the ladybird flies away.

"Mt. Myoboku, exactly as you remembered during your Sage training. I peered into the veil of your mind, I've looked into your memories, you hold this place much closer to your heart than the village of Konoha." The God explained his choice of scenery, "and I feel sympathy for your harsh upbringing."

"However," The Light God then pointed out. "There is always those who suffer more, and you seem to gravitate towards them."

"Uh thanks, I guess?" Naruto offered up in confused gratitude.

The blonde looks at the two, "so, why am I here?"

"You and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki breached the realm of creation. Your final act together was both a sacrifice and a saving grace. For you've caught my eye, while Kaguya caught the eye of my brother. I do not know what he has done with her, he is twisted and has on occasion sabotaged our joint creation." The God of Light holds out his hand, "mankind."

Hagaromo frowns a little, sighing, "in truth Naruto-san you're alive because The Light God is curious."

"So," Naruto looked downcast, "all I am is just…a toy?"

"Far from it," Naruto snapped his head back up to face the God, "you're an anomaly just like Kaguya."

"Birth may have been different. The class you grew up in, beyond different. However, the life you led and the life she gave up, were one and the same. Kaguya wanted to protect her lover and her children, her lover turned on her and the people followed suit." The Light God created a miniature set for display, color coded.

Regular people were black in color, Kaguya was white, and her lover was red. Naruto could see where her lover and the people chased her down. That was before a large object made of green in the shape of a tree, and a golden light glowing from it. He watches as she took the light, consuming it.

And then, everyone turned to dust…

"Kaguya wiped out nearly all of humanity," The Light God said as he made the figures disappear. "In her hubris to gain the power to protect all that she loved…she destroyed it with that very power."

Naruto lowers his head, "so that's why she asked why I decided to help the very people that did those things to me…"

"Kaguya is a tragic character," The Light God lamented. "It saddens me when one takes such a path."

Naruto frowns and nodded in agreement, "yeah…and to think I could've just as easily…took that step."

Hagaromo looks at the reincarnation of his youngest son, "life exists on a balance Naruto-san, there must be balanced for tranquility and peace to prosper."

The former Jinchuuriki took a deep breath, "so, can I finally drift into the Pure World?"

"No," The Light God answered. "Child of Hope…I found it a shame for such a life to be thrown away."

"But I don't want to be here, not without Kurama…not without…Sasuke, and Sakura-chan. I hate this feeling, I don't know how long I've been asleep, and I just…I just…" Naruto starts to sob as he brought his forearm up to cover his face, "I really wished that I could just see Kurama again."

The God of Light looks at the young man, he then smiles as he brought his hand onto him. "Child…you must remain strong."

"How," Naruto lamented as he looked up at The Light God. "Kurama was my closest friend, and Sasuke and Sakura were my siblings. I…I have no one here."

"I brought you here because I saw a pure heart, this world needs that…" The Light God then looked up and smiled. "Ah…it would seem our time has come to a close."

"Wait…" Naruto reaches out to the duo, "when will I see you again?"

"When the time is right," Hagaromo bowed his head. "Please, go in peace, Naruto-san."

* * *

Naruto watches as they left before the whole world became dark.

The gasping of a young man laying in pure white linen makes the nurse jump. The room itself was stainless, pearly white, with some windows overlooking the city. The nurse watches as the teen reaches for the tube in his nostrils, she grabs his hands.

"Sir," she struggled to him down from pulling the tube out. "Sir look at me, I'm Nurse Coral. You're in the hospital, sir please calm yourself."

Naruto breathes hard as he finally gave up, "wh…e…re?"

The nurse made out the broken word, "you're in Vacuo First General Hospital."

"Va…cu…o?" Naruto breathed out.

"Yes, Vacuo," Coral answered as she looks at him. "You were brought here three months ago, critically injured."

"I, and a team of surgeons worked round the clock to keep you alive once you got here. You actually died a few times on the table," she looked around. "Sir, I'm going to go get the doctor, please do not pull at the tube."

Naruto flops his head back, watching as the nurse runs out. The teen breathes hard, looking at the painfully bright room. His eyes ached from it all, the teen sways his head on the pillow, he felt hollow. Looking around he noticed tall buildings just outside of the window, they looked no different than Suna's buildings.

Then he starts to remember some details, landing in water was of them, but it was the dry air he felt when he exited the strange void. Desert air, at least he thought it was, it felt exactly the way The Great Wind Desert felt.

The doctor walks in, she had long lavender colored hair and yellow eyes. The lady wasn't very tall, in fact, she was shorter than most people Naruto knew. The doctor looked him over, checking his pulse, and looked at his monitor.

She had webbed hands, not human ones, "nod if you can understand me."

Naruto nods weakly, making her smile.

"Hey there sunshine," she greeted him with a joke. "My name is Doctor Sahaba Sol, I've been taking care of you the last three months."

"Th…ree…months?" Naruto inquired as best he could.

She nods, "yes, you were brought in with what I can describe as the worst beat down, I've seen a very long time."

"You're very lucky, between your heart stopping several times and the fear of brain damage you came out of surgery successfully. We applied bio-degradable stitches that have already disappeared, you had massive internal injuries." The doctor revealed while she read over his file, "luckily you have a strong aura."

"th…ank…you." Naruto thanked her, watching as she smiled in response.

Sahaba then looks at his monitor, "we're going to monitor for twenty-four hours before we remove that ventilator that's been helping you breathe in your sleep."

"At which time we'll probably start seeing how well your nerves are," she grimaced a little before saying the next part, "and work on removing the catheter."

Naruto looks confused before he looks down past his feet. He saw two tubes, his eyes slightly widened before rolling to the back of his head. The doctor chuckles a little bit before walking out of the room. The nurse pats the teen's shoulder.

"Please rest sir," Coral requested as she nods her head and exits the room.

* * *

A few days have passed since he woke up, Naruto was leaning up from the bed. The blonde was feeling out some paperwork as best as he could, but despite the language verbally being the same, he found that he couldn't read it. He sighs, looking at the nurse.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Coral inquired as she walks over to him.

Naruto nods, giving an embarrassed chuckle, "I can't…read."

"Oh, well, let me just ask you a few questions." The woman grabbed the clipboard, watching his trembling right hand.

"Full name?" She asked while readying her pen.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto answered in standard fashion.

She looks at him confused, "which is first, and the surname?"

"Oh, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto changed his answer to fit what she wanted.

"Very good." Coral praised a little, "and identification?"

"Um, Naruto Uzumaki?" Naruto answered nervously.

"No," the nurse shook her head, "what do you identify as?"

"Um, human?" Naruto once again answered nervously.

"Sir," Coral took a deep breath. "Do you identify as a man, a woman, or pan?"

Naruto looked thoroughly confused, "um…last time I checked…I was a man. Oh crap, you guys didn't cut it off did you Dattebayo?!"

The nurse laughs at his little uproar, "no, we assure you its still attached."

"Oh, okay them, nearly gave me a heart attack. But I'm a guy, so I'm a man." Naruto answered with a nod.

"Okay," the nurse pinched her nose. "Are you, or have you been sexually active in the past year?"

Naruto blushed a little bit, "not really…"

"Have you had sexual intercourse?" The nurse was getting slightly frustrated, "Oral sex?"

"I had sex," Naruto admitted with a blush as he thought his last time traveling with Jiraiya. "It was with a girl that I met…and…well…"

"Did you use protection," Coral stopped him from speaking, "like a condom?"

"Yes," Naruto answered, "I used a condom."

"Splendid, any medical history, familial issues?" Coral inquires as she readied her pen.

"Well, I've been stabbed in the chest twice. I broke my leg and arm when I was a kid," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That's about it."

"When you said stabbed, were you a victim of a crime, or working?" The nurse inquired as she got ready to finish the paperwork.

Naruto struggles to come up with an answer, but then smiles, "I was out stopping bad guys."

"Mercenary?" She asked.

"Um, yeah, I'm a mercenary," Naruto answered, a big dumb goofy smile plastered on his face to sell the lie.

The nurse then just shook her head, "idiot, no wonder you got beaten nearly to death. You mercenaries are all the same, trying to play Huntsmen. Well, with do you have insurance?"

"Uh…" Naruto took a deep breath before squeaking, "not really…"

"Then quite frankly you owe this hospital a debt," the nurse stated as she got up. "We will have you get in touch with an adjuster so you can work on paying the bill through your line of work."

"Um sure, that'll be fine, sorry…if I offended you or anything nurse Coral." Naruto rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

The nurse sighs, "it's not you…I had a friend who decided it'd been a good idea to become a mercenary."

"he died," she told him and then looked at him with her orange eyes. "You do well to keep your young life safeguarded…too many young people die to Grimm thinking they can make a difference."

 _'_ _Grimm?'_ Naruto mentally questioned, "Okay nurse Coral, when can I leave?"

"Tomorrow, you'll be given the green light to leave, your personal effects will be delivered to you tonight." Nurse Coral answered him before walking out of the room.

* * *

The blonde sat on the bed, taking a deep breath, "well that could've gone better."

He looks at his arms and then looking at his legs. They still felt a little stiff, slowly, getting off the bed Naruto entered a fighting stance before throwing a couple of jabs in the air in front of him.

Naruto was handed a pair of black pants and an orange tunic. The tunic had long sleeves and made of a very soft fabric. Naruto noticed that his headband's sash was damaged, torn up, but his headband remained intact. There was a yellow sash obviously used to help tie his pants around his waist.

A pair of all-terrain boots, and along with several of his shuriken. His pouches were mostly ruined, save for one, which still had a kunai in it. Undressing out of his medical clothes Naruto began putting together his outfit and grimaced when he felt pain in his right arm.

The doctor said he'd have some healing to do. Sighing, Naruto just placed himself in the mindset of putting himself as far away from the hospital as possible. Gathering his bearings Naruto took a deep breath and began to mentally go over the things he had.

Sighing, he got himself walking out of the door. It felt weird as people gave him some looks, a nurse nodded with a smile. Apparently, he was well talked about as "the miracle guy" for surviving all that he did.

It didn't take long for Naruto to get outside of the hospital, looking around the arid city, he frowned. There were very few plants in the area, he didn't know what to do with himself. So, he took a step forward, then another and another. People were buzzing through the city streets, talking and gossiping.

"Stop the oppression!" He heard someone shout.

"Down with The Schnee Dust Company," a woman screamed. "Bunch of crooks and thieves."

"Down with The Schnee Dust Company, they are a bunch crooks and thieves!" A group of people chants.

This caught his eye as he watches the people from afar. All of them had the animal traits he saw on some of the nurses, Faunus. Naruto himself was confused on what he should've listed himself down as, considering he had whiskers on his face.

Then again it wasn't like they occurred naturally, his parents were human, he just happened to get bathed in Kurama's chakra before getting birthed. That's when heard sirens of some kind, he watches as men in fancy suites no different than the bastard Gato wore stood outside of a building.

The strange machines with the sirens pulled up toward the building, where he saw people with armor on and shields step out. They all had clubs in their hand, and bigger machine pulls up as well, this one had a cannon of some kind mounted on top.

 _"_ _Attention all protestors,"_ the lead of the group of armed people spoke in a machinelike tone. _"Please desist and return to your dwellings."_

 _"_ _Man, that ain't right!"  
"Hell no, we're protesting unfair pair!"  
"We work just as hard as our human coworkers, we deserve to be paid just as much!"  
"The Schnee Dust Company owes us a pension, as they do with the humans!" _

_"_ _This is your final warning, we will use force!"_ The same person stated, only for some children to step up front.

Naruto watches as they arm the cannon on top of the large machine, _"three!"_

Protestors kept chanting, _"two!"_

The armed people chuckled and laughed, they seemed eager to be beating on people. Naruto's hands found themselves gripping each other, without thinking twice he moved. The cannon starts firing a stream of water out, aimed right at the children.

Naruto formed a hand seal before several clones popped into existence by him. He managed to get in front of the kids, taking the full brunt of the water blast. He stood there, anchoring himself to the ground with chakra as the people blasted him with a cannon full of water.

He wouldn't lie, it felt refreshing, the cold water.

After the water died down the lead of the group steps up to Naruto.

"What in the blue blazes are you doing critter, don't you dare use a semblance again, deactivate it immediately!" The man yelled right in the blonde's face.

Naruto growls as he glared right into the man's eyes, "why don't you stop what you're doing, you could've gotten children hurt!"

"Oh, you animals are all the same," the man complained. "You belong in the mines!"

 _"_ _Kiss our ass!"_ A man from the crowd shouted.

"Shut your jaws, go back to your dens, your mangy critters!" The man shouted at the people behind Naruto.

Naruto looks at the symbol on their uniform, "are you guys…police?"

"No, we're security guards, and you're on Schnee property!" The Security Guard screams.

The blonde then smirks, "is that so?"

He walks backward, the guard follows, "yeah back up fleabag!"

"Oh," Naruto looked down at the line he secretly drew in the sand. "So, are you off Schnee property?"

"Yeah, what about it, you little bas-ack!" Naruto swings his left hand, catching him right in the face.

The blow was powerful enough to shatter his helmet. The man's mouth spat up blood before he hit the ground, hitting it with a hard thud. The crowd behind Naruto stood silently before cheering, the other security guards began beating their clubs against their riot shields.

Taking a deep breath Naruto got ready to fight, "the first one to move forward gets my foot up their ass, Dattebayo…"

 _"_ _Enough!"_ Naruto heard from somewhere behind him.

A large, well-built man walks through the crowd. People separated in his presence, he seemed very well respected. The man looked right at Naruto, who was still on edge.

"Stand down kinsmen," the man ordered Naruto. "There's no need for more violence."

"It's the police chief," the man in the suit greeted the man mockingly. "The Caterer of The Beasts."

"Enough," The Police Chief replied with a flat tone. "This has gone on long enough, I came down personally to inform you'll be taken into custody if another attack happens again!"

"Attack?! These vermin came onto my property first, Mr. Schnee's property is my responsibility." The man in the suit stated, "and I'll not let some wild beasts tarnish it because they don't like their pay."

Naruto looks up at the man, growling as his fists balled up. The Police Chief just placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, pushing him back. The Police Chief stares down the suit until the suit just lost his nerve. Snapping his fingers all the guards got back, the one on the ground slowly got up.

He glares right at Naruto, spitting a splotch of blood on the ground at his feet.

The former Jinchuuriki just flicks the man off, "kick your ass later Dattebayo."

"Next time I see, you'll be going in the hospital, fuckin' animal!" The punched-out security guard screamed.

Naruto just scuffs, "whatever, asshole."

The blonde backs away into the ground, being met by a few people patting his back. The woman from earlier stops, throwing her arms around him. He felt weird, looking at the people.

"Thank you, kinsmen," the woman thanked him. "Those bastards were going to blast our kids!"

"Yeah, what's your name!" A man with rough skin yells, shaking Naruto by the shoulder with a smile on his face.

Naruto looks at them, he then smiles, "my name is Naruto."

* * *

 ** _(Just wanted to take the time to give a shout out to fellow authors Psychosensei and Rio Skyron. If you haven't checked out their stuff yet, do me a solid and do so. Please Review, and as always see you in the next chapter!)_**


	3. Season One Episode Three: No Love

Life had a funny way of working its wonders. Naruto didn't know that the vision he had was just some sort of drug-induced fever dream or the actual deal. Taking a deep breath, he looks at the bubbly brown liquid in front of him. It was called a "beer" and apparently, someone bought it for him. He had been struggling to adapt, this world was totally different than the one he remembered.

Was it even the same one?

Taking the bottle into his right hand, which slightly trembled, Naruto tilted it back. The liquid was very offending, but he didn't want to punch a gift horse in the mouth. Quickly downing the contents, the blonde just coughs at the end of it all. Music played in the background, the throbbing of speakers in this "club" was weird.

It radiated through him, the music was pretty good. He didn't know what it was exactly. It was like a mix between Killer Bee's rapping and loud music. He got up from the bar. The whiskered blonde just took a moment to think about what he would do next.

The people he had helped earlier provided him with a place to stay. It wasn't some fancy apartment, not some house. Merely a couch in a room. He could try to keep to his words and do mercenary work. It couldn't possibly that hard, right? All the time in the world, time, that's all he pretty much had.

Getting up from the bar after thinking this over, Naruto felt hazy. It was a hollow feeling, he closed his eyes as he walked. Dodging around people, perhaps the vision of Hagaromo and that Light God guy was just a drug-induced fever dream. It didn't seem like they knew what they wanted him, just that they _needed_ him for something, and that just doesn't make any sense.

The way he felt right now was just awful, and he didn't even have a friend to share his grief with. Kurama was, for the longest time, a foe. He'd do everything in his power to take over him, he'd do anything make Naruto irate. Yet, at the end, it was because he was hurt. No different than the way Naruto was, treated differently out of fear!

Walking out of the bar Naruto had to watch his step as one of this vehicle things sped past him. They weren't common in Vacuo from what he understood, but sometimes people on certain nights didn't watch where they were going. At least, that's what one of the people he'd been staying with said at least.

Shuffling along the road the teen stops, "I know you've been following me."

A chortle escapes the lips of a man and his cronies. It was The Security Guard from the other day that Naruto punched. The teen took a deep breath as he looks at the five men that slowly surround him. His blue eyes scan over them, he noticed one had a weapon called a "gun" in his hand.

The one with the gun was a large, pudgy looking man. He noted that it was the same man that operated the water cannon trying to blast kids. The man standing by The Security Guard had brass knuckles, and two others had clubs in their hands. There was a tense moment in the air when the security guy produced a knife from his back pocket.

"Figures an animal like you would see us in this dark," they moved from behind a building at the guard's words. "Tell me, critter, you gonna take your punishment willingly?"

"I'm sorry," Naruto mocked them as he stared them down. "Are you suggesting that you'd be able to hurt me?"

"Smart little bastard," the pudgy man points the gun at him, "we won't kill you…will just put in the hospital for a while."

"You guys are in way over your heads, Dattebayo," Naruto growled as he glared at them. "You need to either pack your tails between your legs and go, or you need to just stand aside. I'm not going to give any wrong thinking, I _will hurt you_. Do you understand that, bastards?"

The Security Guard sneers as the pudgy man points the gun at him, "well, we'll just say you attacked first."

Naruto just shook his head only to appear in front of the pudgy man in a blur of speed. He didn't give them time to react before he slammed a right hook into the man's jaw. The big man fell over, knocked out cold at the first punch. Everyone's expression was one of shock as Naruto turns on his heel and kicks a club-wielding goon with a solid kick to the ground.

The blonde kicks the gun away on his return stroke, straight down the alleyway so no one could reach it before he reached them.

All of this was in one fluid motion, no stop. The three remaining back up, all of them looked at each other. Naruto looks at the one with brass knuckles before taking a step forward. He didn't express anything, just a scowl on his face when he used his left forearm to block a punch. The brass knuckle goon grunts as Naruto grips his arms, the blonde pushed him out to where his hand was in a death grip.

That's when Naruto then kicked up, shattering the man's arm. He heard the man wail in pain as he backed away when his grip loosened. The Security Guard screams out a profanity before charging with his knife sticking straight out. Scoffing, Naruto deflects the stab with the back of his hand before slamming his left fist straight into the man's face.

The man's nose splattered across Naruto's chakra-enhanced punch, it sent him careening into the side of building that he bounced off and slammed into the ground. The blonde turns his eye toward the last guy, the last guy with a Billy club just slowly backs away.

Naruto only took one more step forward before he bolted. The blonde shakes his head, walks over to the downed Security Guard before crouching down. The guard looks up at him, spite and hatred filled his eyes to the brim.

Naruto just sighs as he looked right into the man's eyes, "it's not the first time someone has given me that look. Honestly, it probably won't be last either Dattebayo."

"But," the former Jinchuuriki glared right into the man's eyes. "Hopefully this'll be a lesson to you. When someone tells you to back off, or you'll get hurt, its best you tuck your tail between your legs and just go."

"How…" The Security Guard groaned in pain, "you're not Huntsmen…there's no way…"

"You're right," the blonde claps mockingly to congratulate the man, "but you still haven't learned the point."

Naruto leans down right into the man's ear, _"point is that I could've easily slashed your throats open and walked away. You came at me, and your dumb ass didn't think to notice a security camera right outside of the bar."_

The man's eyes widened tremendously, he shook, looking up at Naruto. "Please…don't."

"I won't," Naruto stands back up while reassuring the man, "but this better be the last time I _ever_ see you trying to hurt someone else."

"Y-yes sir, I promise sir, don't kill me sir…" the guard rambles as Naruto starts walking away.

The Security Guard gets up off the ground, wiping his bloody face. The others slowly got up as well, limping away with their tails between their legs.

A couple of months went by, Naruto was slowly adapting to the lifestyle of this strange world. The people that took him in believed him to be a Faunus, just like them. He told them the truth however that he was human, but while a few gave him sideway looks, the majority still took him in.

Running odd jobs for people, Naruto had begun to save money up, something called Lien. The few couches he slept on were returned with favors, a package delivery or simply cleaning. In his spare time, finding that he didn't need to watch his back against a lot of people, Naruto began to practice.

In the wide expanse of the desert he found that it offered a place of solace. On a large rock overlooking a wide-open view of sand dunes Naruto was sitting on this large rock, his hands cupped in front of him. Deep, very long, breaths escaped his lips. Slowly an orange liner appears over his eyes, he began absorbing Nature Chakra around himself.

Acclimation took time, the very sparse amount usually followed the winds. The teen stands up, taking one last deep breath before his eyes snapped open. They were golden in color, unlike regular human eyes, they had pupils in the shape of a toad's pupil. His orange sherwani blew in the wind as long coat got hit by a gust of wind.

Under the sherwani was a black shirt that went down to just above his knees, a kurta. Slowly, moving his hands around into various stances, Naruto breathed through his nose. It was Tai Chi, something he learned while in Myoboku as well, it's what helped him keep still and balanced. Ma had taught him it at night, saying it would help him relax.

Taking time to go through the steps the blonde moved his chakra around his body. The tremble in his right hand was slowly going away. On his hip was the headband, tied in a black sash around his blue pants. Finishing his Tai Chi meditation, Naruto jumps off the rock. Landing in front of it he turns around and cocks his fist back.

Roaring with a mighty war cry Naruto slams his right fist into the massive stone. It cracks, spreading across it, the cracks began to make it fall apart. With the stone in pieces, Naruto forms a single hand seal before several clones popped into existence.

They weren't Sage enhanced clones, just regular run of the mill of clones. Dropping into a fighting stance Naruto took a moment to glance at them. Giving them a nod, they ran at him full speed. He blocks the first with his foreleg before following through with a front kick and dispersing it. Kicking up sand as he landed, Naruto throws his elbow back, destroying another clone when he slammed his elbow into its face.

The last remaining clones tried to attack him with Rasengan, but the originally dodges them. Landing on top of small stones Naruto grips them with his chakra before jumping and slinging them off his feet. The clones unfortunate enough to get in the path of them found themselves destroyed. The last clone entered Sage Mode and attacked.

Naruto and it clashed forearms, both exchanging blows. With his power split down the middle with this clone, the clone was going to put up a good challenge. Blocking several jabs with his forearms, Naruto leans back when he feels a pressure wave come off the last punch the clone threw. The pressure wave misses him completely, and while continuing to lean back Naruto flips on to his hands.

He throws a couple of kicks while standing on his hands before angling himself to sweep kick his clone. The clone is knocked off balance just as Naruto gets up and launched a Nature Chakra enhanced punch into its side.

The clones skid across the desert sand before dispersing. The knowledge of how it got beaten, along with the flaws in its stance that left it open was transported to Naruto. Taking a deep breath Naruto exists Sage Mode before slowly walking back toward Vacuo City.

* * *

Naruto was standing guard over the group of protesters, a mix of Faunus and some humans. This was an odd job he had for the day. The Security Guards that tried to ambush him outside of these events each came back bloody and broken like the first one. They knew better, and by the looks of the man atop the catwalk, his mere presence unnerved him.

Which is why after today's demonstrations people were stunned to see the man come down. The well-dressed man looked Naruto over as he walked straight up to his face. He sneers, pushing his glasses up and then gets out a strange notepad of some kind.

"You've been at this for four months," The Well-Dressed Man told Naruto. "Yet, I don't think your fellow critters give you anything other than a couch."

Naruto glares back at the man, "what's your game Niko Dattebayo?"

"No games," the man, Niko, revealed. "I want to pay you, I want to buy your loyalty."

"You've got a lot of nerve doing this blatantly in front of people," Naruto growled as he began to pop his knuckles. "What are you writing down?"

"A check," Niko tells Naruto while laughing, "name your price."

The whiskered blonde folded his arms, looking behind him. Some of the Faunus behind him looked down, believing he'd take the money. The blonde smirks, looking at the check and then holding out his hand. People gasp from behind him, he had been learning to write since he took the odd jobs. He knew how to write basic words, and even some unsavory words as well.

Naruto finished signing the check, "this is what I want."

"Shove this…up your ass," Niko yelled as he threw the check at Naruto. "Do you take me as a complete fuckin' idiot?!"

"Hell, yeah I do," Naruto argued as he pushed the man back. "You take these people's jobs because they look a little different and make them miserable. I don't care if you're human, or you're a Faunus, you have basic rights to be happy."

 _"_ _Yeah, what Naruto said!"  
"Tell that bastard!"  
"We want justice!"_

"Oh, you must be so happy with yourself," Niko spat as he glared right at Naruto. "I'm telling you right now, none of these animals will get their jobs back under my leadership!"

The blonde looks back at them, then scoffed as he turned his back toward Niko. The man was confused, he merely turned the cheek, but why?

Naruto then answers that silent question, "you're right about that, under _your_ leadership."

"So," the former Jinchuuriki chuckled. "You can either leave, or I'll make you leave."

"Is that a threat you little bastard!" Niko screams as he kept looking at Naruto's back.

The blue-eyed teen responds with a dark glint in his eyes, "it's a promise Niko."

Turning his head back toward the crowd Naruto sighs, "okay guys let's pack it for the day. My end of watch is over, and I think its high time you all got something to drink and spend time with your families."

The group grumbles as they disperse, none of it directed at the blonde. Naruto just kept standing there, his back turned took a deep breath. He turns to Niko, perhaps as a courtesy, perhaps as an intimation. The two glared at one another, both hated each other.

"Niko," Naruto said the businessman's name. "There was once a person like you. When I was young, I went with my teacher on a mission, he had bought that village off and ran the people like slaves. He hurt those who'd stand up to him."

"Sounds like a ruthless businessman, what's your point?" Niko sounded annoyed.

"The point is that he tried to kill a man that he paid to cut his costs," the blonde then gave a dark chuckle. "That man ended cutting him open."

Niko's eyes widen, "you wouldn't dare…you're no murderer."

"It's a fair warning Niko," Naruto warned as he glared right into the man's eyes. "Don't do like your henchmen have been doing, or you'll meet the same fate."

Naruto walks away, looking over his shoulder, "do the right thing Dattebayo."

* * *

The bar was playing music loudly as Naruto entered it. He was walking with the person most recently taking him in for the week. It was kind of a funny little exchange program, and Naruto was his own commodity. The sounds of violins and people clapping their hands while dancing in the middle filled the room.

"Gotta say Naruto," The Police Chief Tigre greeted the teen. "You continue to impress me on how much paperwork you give me and my boys."

Naruto gave a chortle before smiling, "don't mention it, I'll probably be leaving Vacuo once this blows over."

"Well shit son," Tigre motioned Naruto to follow him. "I was hoping if you'd been interested in joining the force."

"Nah," Naruto shook his head, "police work isn't for me."

Tigre sighs and then taps the bar, "how about a beer then?"

"Honestly," Naruto laughed as he looked at the man. "I prefer spirits."

"Very well then," Tigre replied and then looked at the bartender. "I need a shot of Krogan's."

Tigre watches as the man slides the glass over to him, handing it Naruto while he held his beer in the other hand. Both clinked their glasses together before Naruto slams the shot back. He winces at the burning, whatever Krogan's was it was strong!

"Holy crap Dattebayo," Naruto gasped as he looked at the shot glass. "The hell was that?!"

"Ninety-four proof, it'll put hair on ya, squirt." Tigre ruffles Naruto's hair and then looks over the teen's shoulder, "hey, don't look now but there's a lady looking right at you."

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed and looked over his shoulder.

The lady looking at him was young, she had deep crimson hair and red eyes. She was very beautiful, being voluptuous. Naruto's old sensei Jiraiya would've had a field day right now, probably trying to flirt with her even before she took notice of him. She was talking to her friends, getting up from the table she was at, she walks up to Naruto.

She was slightly taller than him, probably a couple of years older as well. She had a sway to her hips, she was being flirtatious and though Naruto tried his best to ignore a certain part of him. There was an itch, and that itch hadn't been scratched in a very long time.

So, instead of walking away, he just waited for her to walk over to him.

"Ah, the hero of The Sandworm." She greets him, "it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Um, hi…my name's Naruto," he replied, there was a slight blush on his cheeks.

She laughs and looks at him coyly in the eye, "see something you like?"

"I'm just going to leave you two alone," Tigre chuckled as he walked away from Naruto. "Have fun lad!"

Naruto nervously chuckled, "don't mind the guy…um, who are you?"

"My name is Rosa," she took his hand before whispering right into his ear, _"and I want to dance."_

* * *

The door to an inn room was kicked open, Naruto was currently locking lips with Rosa as they entered the room. There was something electric in her kiss, it wasn't love or anything, it was just passion. The girl laughs as she broke the kiss, pushing him toward the bed.

Naruto hit the bed hard enough to bounce up a little bit. He was breathing hard, perhaps it was the dancing, the alcohol? Maybe it was the so-called "itch" that everyone had and needed to be scratched every so often.

Rosa looks at him, her hungry eyes scanned over his body. "My oh my, what am I going to do with you?"

The teasing in her voice made chills run down Naruto's spine, "um Rosa-chan...I…um…"

"Oh," she walks over to the inn door closing it, "what's up stud?"

She grabs a disk of some kind before opening a device called a CD player. Smoot music started playing over from the speakers, and she was just teasing him further. She _accidentally_ dropped the CD case before slowly rising back up to put it up in a pack she had with her.

"Who is this?" Naruto asked bashfully.

She turns to him, laughing, "Marvin Gaye…sexual healing."

He blushed brightly as she kicks off her heels, watching as he took off his shoes. The blonde watches the redhead giggle before turning fully to face him.

"So, you were saying something," she said to him while looking into his eyes with a predatory look. "What was up stud?"

"Nothing really, Dattebayo, I just…well…" Naruto blushed as he spoke, "I just met you and I um…"

"Hmm," she sashayed over to him. "Look here mister, it's not something I do often. I just like you, besides…"

The blonde's spine tingled more when she kissed his neck, "wouldn't it be fun?"

"Definitely Dattebayo," Naruto moaned out before blushing brighter. "I just, well…"

"Are you a virgin?" She asked him before giving him another tender kiss on his neck.

Naruto shook his head, "I just haven't done it a minute."

"Well don't worry sugar," Rosa continued to drive him crazy when she gave him a love bite.

She slowly lowered her kissing, "if you scratch my back…I'll scratch yours."

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning as the sun breached the window. Rosa was laying next to him, the only thing covering them was a blanket. Their clothes had been discarded across the room, there was a layer of dry sweat on Naruto as he leans up into the small lightrays. Breathing hard, Naruto checked himself over. There were a few love bites from her. She turned out to be a Faunus when her claws had clawed him.

They had used protection. Getting up from the bed, putting on some clothes, Naruto walks into the bathroom and begins to wipe away some of the dried sweat. He grips the edge of the sink before looking into it. He had some lipstick on his face, which he begins to wipe up.

Leaving the bathroom Naruto retrieves his shirt just as Rosa wakes up. She looked at him, smiling, she still had a glow of red around her face. It wasn't a wonder that they hadn't been called out for a noise complaint. Mostly because while Naruto wasn't knowledgeable, he had the stamina to go the distance. Plus, he was a very attentive lover.

"Hey there stud," she chuckled while looking at him. "Some party last night, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Naruto nervously replied. "Are you okay, I hope I didn't hurt you."

"Pfft," she blew raspberries, "I'm perfectly fine."

She looks at her effects, "can you hand me some of my stuff?"

"S-sure," Naruto reaches down and throws her garments to her. "So, how was I?"

"Very passionate, plus the cute little way you shout that one word…Datta…Datteno…what is it?" Rosa inquired as she tried to remember the word.

"Dattebayo," Naruto nervously answered her. "It's a verbal tick of mine…"

"I can tell, I think I counted an entire sentence of you shouting that." She spoke from under the blanket as she started putting clothes on.

The redhead gets up from the bed, fooling with her hair to fix it up a little. Putting it back into its ponytail from before last night's activities. She walks over to Naruto, giving him a very passionate kiss. The blonde slowly rubs her face, doing the same.

Naruto sighs however after they broke the kiss, "we're not…are we?"

"Sorry stud," she apologized with a small giggle. "But I'm the type of gal that just wants fun."

Naruto sighs as she gave him one more kiss, "but I slipped my scroll number in the nightstand if you want another round with me."

She gets to the door, "see you around Naruto, hopefully soon."

She walks out of the room, closing the door behind her. When she did however Naruto just sat back on the bed, holding his face. Had he wanted the sex, yes. Did it make him feel any better, also yes…maybe? However, now he just felt like he had been used and thrown away. It wasn't Rosa's fault, she made it perfectly clear that this was a fling.

That moment of being with someone made Naruto happier than he had been in months. It was, however, very fleeting. She didn't even invite him to breakfast, which meant that although they had a night together, she probably just wanted her fun.

Growling, Naruto punched the bed before getting up. He needed to check out by eleven and it was already ten fifty. Slowly, he exits the room, putting on his shoes in the hallway. There, Naruto was met with the eyes of neighbors. They all had heavy blushes on their faces, this was a "Love Hotel" after all.

Getting out of the hall, Naruto walks down to the desk, "checking out."

"Alright," the desk attendant concurred. "Name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replied before watching her type of few things on a computer. "Mr. Uzumaki thank you for using our hotel's services. Please have a beautiful day, and don't be too shy to come back."

"Yeah, sure," Naruto walked out as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Back into the burning hot sun of an April in Vacuo.

* * *

 ** _(I would like to give a shout out to Bleeding Luna from Wattpad, he currently has a story called RWBY: The Second Coming. It currently has one chapter and has got a great start to it. There's also Kerberos314, who's story Dust to Dust is also very good, and could use some extra love for the all the effort he's been putting into it_**

 ** _Take care guys._**

 ** _-Blaze/Chris.)_**


	4. Season One Episode Four: Sayonara

Naruto was once again standing guard over the protesters and strikers. The teen's blue eyes observed the area as his clones, a cover for his "semblance" stood guard over the area as well. The strikers had grown in number, their bills were being helped by local donation and their union hall. The Uzumaki heir had been learning about unions and how they played a roll in the labor force.

They made sure to grant those working safer conditions, and bargaining power. The people here were apart of SDC's Local Seven-Six-One. This entire thing was over the unfair treatment compared to human workers. Faunus got paid lower wages, didn't get as many benefits, and had no pension. However, today, Naruto took notice that the guards looked tired.

The protests started at six in the morning, and now it was approaching five in the evening. There was a fire in the eyes of some people, they believed that today would be the day they've been waiting for. His sherwani flutters in a gust of wind, Naruto sees the strike leader standing in front of his workforce.

"No more of this workspace oppression, we Faunus do not _ask_ for better pay and pensions, we _demand_ it! Why, why is that our human coworkers get these things, and we do not?! Tell yourselves, people, is it better to allow yourselves to be treated like slaves, working to the day you die, or get what is rightfully yours for making The Schnee Dust Company its fortunes!" The Strike Leader screamed as he held his fist up in the air.

 _"_ _Hey ho, corporate greed has got to go!"_

The Strike Leader turns around to face the building they had been kicked out from when the strike started. The leader holds his fist up high, as well as the other Faunus. They stand in solidarity against this greed and dishonest practice. The guards tensed up, Naruto could tell some were itchy with their clubs. One glance from him, however, and they backed off quickly.

"Do you hear us Niko Yuki, do you hear us, Jacques Schnee?!" The Strike Leader proclaimed to the top of his lung.

 _"_ _No more, no more!"_

The crowd falls silent as Niko walks out of the building, a smirk on his face. Walking right behind him was a man dressed in armor, he had a large ax-like weapon on his back. Niko Yuki, the operator of Schnee Dust Processing Plant in Vacuo, had a dastardly smile. The man with ax-like weapon stared up at Naruto. The blonde looked confused before the man turned his attention to The Strike Leader.

"Mr. Niko has hired me as a guard to his property," the man explained his presence. "I am to ask you all to disperse and allow the human workers to come in."

"We most certainly will not!" The Strike Leader yelled as he looked at the massive man, "who the hell are you, some mercenary?"

"I'm a Huntsmen," the man answered as he readied his weapon. "I have authority from The Vacuoian Government to kick you off the premises."

"Bullshit!" The Strike Leader steps forward only to have a punch thrown at him.

The Strike Leader's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly appears in front of him. The Huntsmen's punch was caught in the much smaller hand of the teen. The two locked eyes as Naruto watches him bring his weapon back, without thinking Naruto kicked The Strike Leader back in time to turn on his heel. As he spun around, he grabbed his kunai and blocked the ax. Sparks flew off the weapons they used, Naruto using chakra to enhance the edge of his kunai.

"Mr. Niko told me about you, the whiskered human, more like a scrawny Faunus kid." The Huntsmen mocked as he pushed Naruto back a little.

Naruto dodged a swing from the ax when the man backed off and tried to counter him. The two clashed weapons several times, sparks flying from each other's weapon as the former Jinchuuriki danced around the Huntsmen. Each time he tried to punch, or kick, the Huntsmen was able to block with his ax.

He couldn't risk Sage Mode, not that it would be a fight ender, it is just that people around could get hurt. Moving to the side of The Huntsmen, Naruto caught him off guard before slamming his against the back of the man. Only for a violet barrier to block him, his eyes widened slightly before the massive Huntsmen roars out and smacked Naruto away.

The blonde skids across the ground, wiping his lip as he stood back up. Reaching into his pouch Naruto produces three shurikens tucked in between his fingers. The Huntsmen sneers as Naruto launches the shuriken and easily deflects the teen's weapons.

"That all, poultry tricks?" The man asked Naruto.

The Sage simply smirks and pulls his hand back. A thin blue line appeared over the man's weapon before he felt it get jerked out of his hands. There was wire around it, and Naruto gave it another hard pull before throwing the guy's weapon away.

"Gah," The Huntsmen gasped. "What did you do?!"

Naruto appeared in front of the man, slamming his knee into the man's face. The challenger couldn't recover as the blonde went about slamming punch after punch into his abdomen. He coughed up some blood as Naruto sent the last punch into the man's chest, making him step back and grip. His violet aura sparking around him, he grunted as he fell to his knees.

Showing no mercy Naruto slammed a haymaker right into the face of the man. It made him slide across the sand, toward Niko, who backed away as Naruto glared at him. Suddenly a ticking noise could be heard as The Huntsmen began to slide back to where he had been punched.

The Shinobi figured it out too late as he was soon kicked toward the crowd. A violet clock appeared behind the Huntsmen, but it was ticking backward. He laughs as he walks over and grabbed his ax. Preparing it he then points it toward the crowd.

"You fought well," The Huntsmen chortled while readying his weapon's range mode. "However, I am the victor, surrender."

Naruto got up, looking down where he dropped his kunai at the man's feet. A gleam appeared in the boy's eye as he subtlety formed a hand seal. The man pointed his ax weapon's gun at Naruto. Only for the blonde to disappear in an orange flash, The Huntsmen's eyes widened as Naruto appears below him.

The crowd gasped, even some of the security guards. Not wasting his chance, the Shinobi kicked The Huntsmen with all his might into the air. Using his "semblance" Naruto formed a clone that tossed him up. Spinning forward Naruto ends up above the man, his leg cocked and ready to go downward.

"Uzumaki Rendan!" Naruto screamed before slamming his fist into the man's back.

The man yelled in pain as he hits the ground, with Naruto forming another clone that throws him into The Huntsmen. Hitting knee first into the Huntsmen's back, Naruto watched as the purple clock from before appeared and began ticking.

Naruto's clone nodded as its locked eyes with the original before dispersing. Naruto jumps back in time to avoid the shots from the ax gun when The Huntsmen reversed time locally to the point of being kicked.

Suddenly the former Jinchuuriki leaps at the man, running headlong into the man's sights. A click was heard, and everyone gasps as the shot impacted Naruto's head. The teen fell backward lifeless, until that it is, he dispersed into smoke.

The real Naruto appeared behind The Huntsmen in an orange flash, who's back had a glowing seal on it.

 _'_ _So fast?!'_ The Huntsmen panicked as Naruto slammed his leg into the man's back!

Landing on the ground, this time behind The Huntsmen. Naruto grabs the man's leg before spinning on his heel. The blonde twirls the larger man around and around before throwing him toward Niko. The businessman shook in his designer shoes as Naruto walks toward The Huntsmen.

A ticking noise could be heard as the dishonorable man roars, he launches himself back to where he was before being thrown. He points the ax gun right Naruto.

"Taste the fury of my weapon, Minotaur!" The Huntsmen yells as a ball of fire emerges from the top of the ax gun.

However, as he stands there, the crowd stood in shock as Naruto merely formed a ball of energy in his hand. The fireball was launched from the weapon as the ball of energy suddenly started becoming watery in nature. The Huntsmen laughs, believing that the teen was foolish to just be standing there.

 _"_ _Suiton: Rasenbakuha!"_ Naruto whispered his Jutsu before blasting a jet of swirling water from his ball of energy.

The Huntsmen's eyes widened as the watery jet swarms him, blasting him off his feet and extinguishing his flames. The man begins to use his semblance once again, only for Naruto to suddenly appear behind him. He crashed an elbow into the man's back, making him stumble forward. Naruto took this opportunity to reverse sweep the man's legs out from under him before in punching him away in one fluid motion.

He wasn't finished though, Naruto once again flashes to where he was above the man. Without remorse he slammed his elbow into the back of The Huntsmen, slamming him into the ground. Violet aura began to crackle around the man, just in for him to feel the prick of Naruto's kunai against his jugular.

Naruto made sure to nick it so he could feel a _tiny_ bit of blood leak down his neck.

"It didn't have to come to me nearly killing you," Naruto said to The Huntsmen. "You could've just ignored the contract; you and I both know it was wrong."

The Huntsmen glared up at Naruto, "what do you know?"

"Don't let Niko bullshit you into believing anything the supposed Vacuoian documents are real either. I know his type, they'll lie and cheat, chances are you took a _fake_ mission. Congratulations, you got played, must really suck right about now huh?" Naruto said before offering his hand.

The Huntsmen looks stunned, "didn't I just try to kill you?"

"I had friends try to kill me before knowing me," Naruto helped The Huntsmen to his feet. "Do not stay here, unless you want a round two."

The Huntsmen sighs and looked at Naruto, "thank you sparing my life…I'll go investigate the contract to see if its real. If it is, then I pray that we don't meet again."

"We won't," Naruto walks away from The Huntsmen who began to limp away from the area, "now as for you…"

"This is crazy, you just talked down a Huntsmen?!" Niko exclaimed as he looked around, "guards!"

The guards didn't move toward Naruto, or to help their boss, "I said guards goddamn it!"

"They won't help you," Naruto reaches out and snatched the man by the collar, "so…you faked documents to get a Huntsmen to fight me? You must be out of your damn mind Dattebayo."

"You could've gotten yourself killed, you could've gotten a Huntsmen killed, and more importantly you put the lives of people here in danger from a dumbass." Naruto didn't ignore the irony of those words, "and you just stand here with fear in yours eyes."

"You're no man," Naruto threw the man down onto his ass, "and you're not welcome in Vacuo City."

"That's not up to you, you're not even from here, aren't you!" Niko yells as he looked at Naruto.

Tigre runs up toward Niko and Naruto, "Niko Yuki you're under arrest for the forgery of mission papers!"

"What, no, there's no proof of that!" Niko screamed as he got picked up by two officers.

The Police Chief showed him the letter from The Vacuoian Government that got sent via email. Niko fell silent, apparently someone had caught on after all, and slowly the businessman just lowered his head as he was dragged away.

Tigre laughs as he looked at Naruto, "gotta cut there, sport."

"Yeah," Naruto didn't feel the wound close as fast as it should, "I know."

"Damn it, I could've prevented the fight if I got here sooner!" Tigre breathed as he looked at Naruto's wound, "sorry young man, my old ass isn't as spry."

"There's not need to apologize to me," Naruto laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "What happens now though?"

"I think the person next in line," Tigre pointed toward a man with glasses. "I think that guy is in charge of the building."

Naruto looks toward the crowd, motioning them with his hand. They slowly began to walk forward, none of the guards dared to do anything about it. Naruto approaches a group of them, all of them threw down their clubs immediately. The man with glasses had black hair and blue eyes, he was tall in stature, but it was obvious he wasn't a fighter.

The man looked at Naruto, then to The Strike Leader, "Mr. Snowberry."

"Mr. Luna," The Strike Leader, Mr. Snowberry greeted. "I am sure that this never would've been what you wanted."

"Indeed, Niko was mad with power, always had been…" Mr. Luna agreed with his underling, "are you all still on strike as of right now?"

"Of course," Mr. Snowberry replied as he crossed his arms. "What can _you_ do to fix that?"

Mr. Luna took a deep breath, looking at The Faunus Workers, he then nodded. "Things do need change, and if it'll end this ridiculousness, I'll be willing to sit down with a contract."

The crowd had smiles on their faces as Mr. Luna reached his hand out, Mr. Snowberry chuckled. Both men shook hands, making the Faunus crowd cheer and clap. Naruto smiles as he began to walk away, dispersing his "semblance" that were hidden throughout the area.

The crowd began to cheer!

* * *

In a large estate, a woman with long feline ears with earrings in them was preparing her day. She was expecting news from her spies in Vacuo regarding the incident with The Schnee Dust Company's processing plant there. She had very dark skin and wore jewelry on her fingers fit for a noblewoman. She hears a knock at her door, looking at her personal guard to open the door.

The personal guard, another woman, nodded. She reaches over and opens the door. A person with a crocodile's tail entered. He looks at the woman, kneeling, he placed his fist on the ground in front of her. He lowered his head, the white armor he had on jingled a little bit.

"Lady Khan," the Crocodile Faunus greeted her with submission. "I have reports from our spy network in Vacuo."

Lady Kahn, the woman who was finishing up her outfit by putting on a necklace, turns to face her fellow Faunus. She motioned for him to rise, he did so immediately, giving a bow afterward.

"Report Ishmael," Khan ordered as she crossed her arms. "What of the situation in Vacuo City?"

"The situation has changed drastically," The Crocodile Faunus, Ishmael, hands her photographs. "There is a whiskered Faunus boy believing himself to be human helping our people there."

"He took on a Huntsmen recently sent by The SDC to break the strike. The Huntsmen himself is not a target. Tigre…our man on the inside said he had been tricked into trying to take out The Whiskered Blonde. We've been asked by our lead in Vacuo, Kabana, to stand down on any retaliation." Ishmael revealed as he kept his head down in a bow.

Khan gives a chuckle as she looked at the photographs, "is this the blonde Faunus?"

"It is Milady," Ishmael answered her immediately. "Sources say that his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Interesting," Khan hummed as she looked through the photographs. "Ah, well now, do you know his next move?"

"No, we don't Lady Khan…" Ishmael told Khan as he raised his head. "Sources say that he is looking into becoming a Huntsmen."

"How good are these sources?" Khan asks Ishmael before walking with him out into the main hall.

"It comes directly from Tigre himself," the Crocodile Faunus replied. "We should make a move to invite him here."

The leader of The White Fang looked at her underling, "are you giving me suggestions?"

"N-no ma'am," Ishmael corrected himself immediately. "Forgive me for talking out of turn."

"No," Khan shook her head, "it was a perfect suggestion."

She walks through the main part of the estate with her personal guard following her. Ishmael follows closely behind, they exit out onto the busy streets of Kua Kuana, the capital city of Menagerie. There the Tiger Faunus herself is greeted with looks of adoration from her people. She was The High Leader of The White Fang.

A position in Menagerie held only one rank lower than The Chieftain. Her personal guard watches the crowd, noting that that gave her looks of ire. In truth, some people didn't agree with her being The High Leader of The White Fang. She did have a short fuse sometimes, and often it would land many other Faunus into trouble if it was directed the wrong way.

"Lady Sienna!" A woman yells out.

Sienna Khan turns to toward the woman's voice, finding it belonging to a Deer Faunus. The Faunus woman was breathing hard as she looked at her leader, kneeling when she could stabilize herself. Sienna noted that this woman seemed desperate to reach her.

"Scarlet," Sienna looked at her fellow Faunus. "What is wrong, did something happen in Vale?"

"Blake Belladonna has abandoned The White Fang. Adam Taurus is in an uproar since helped a train get away from us stealing the Dust inside of it." Sienna's eyes widened at her subordinate's report, growls, "that spoiled little brat…"

"My Lady," her personal bodyguard looked at her. "Methinks we should inform Master Ghira and Mistress Kali on their daughter's actions."

"I agree with Babylonia," Sienna agreed as they began walking toward where she knew Ghira would be. "I know he won't let me give the silence order against his own daughter…but this will not go unanswered."

* * *

Naruto was bidding farewell to Vacuo City. Most of the people that had been on strike went back to work, others stayed at newer places of employment. Carrying a large pack on his back full of various scrolls he had made during his time in Vacuo, Naruto had everything he had ever bought in those scrolls.

He decided to turn down becoming a Huntsmen, instead, the life of a mercenary seemed more fitting. Checking over his equipment, he turns toward those that had been letting him stay in their homes. He gave them a two-finger salute, smiling as he did. They smiled back and waving him as he walked toward the gates.

"So," Tigre came walking up next to Naruto. "Where do the winds take you next?"

"Northeast," Naruto answered Tigre as he looked at the sun. "Hopefully I am not needed to come back, otherwise I may make that one guy with glasses crap his pants."

Tigre laughs as he slaps Naruto's back, "agreed, please be safe, young one."

Naruto nodded as he started walking toward the desert. Rosa wasn't bothering herself to be there, they weren't a thing anyway, she wanted her fun and he needed a release. He'd be lying if he said this hadn't been stressful, but now it was nothing but him and hundreds of miles of sand between him and the Vacuo-Vale border.

* * *

Naruto had a headscarf on that helped block the sun. The desert sands whipped over him, he was walking briskly along the desert, conserving energy in case of a fight. The blonde took a moment to check the sun, making sure he was going directly northeast.

The hot sands of a near May summer. This desert felt exactly like The Great Wind Desert in Suna. Slowly the winds died down, allowing Naruto to see ahead, watching as vultures circled him. They were probably waiting for him to make a mistake, perhaps get killed by Grimm somehow.

Removing his headscarf Naruto found an oasis. Giving a deep sigh, Naruto checks his canteen, finding it nearly empty. Walking toward the small oasis, Naruto sits down and fills his canteen with water. As he does, he fails to notice something moving in the mud near him, slowly it rises.

The beast itself was probably about twenty feet long.

Black skin with bone white armor, in the shape of a crocodile with hands and legs. Naruto heard the growl, turning too late as the beast lunged at him. It knocks them both into the shallow water, mud and clay got kicked up out of the oasis's bottom.

The roaring of a beast was followed closely with the roar of a teen. Naruto emerged out of the water after tossing the massive Grimm off him. The teen's eyes were golden as it and three others slowly moved toward him. Getting into a fighting stance, Naruto moved first and appeared next to the one that had attacked him.

Chaka pumping into his fist, Naruto throws it and knocks the beast's head clean off. Turning on his heel, using the pressure from the power of Sage Mode, Naruto blasts the others back with a palm thrust. He roars out as rushes another one, grabbing it by its tail and then using it as a bat to knock the other two out of the oasis.

After he was finished using it as a club Naruto throws it up into the air before forming a one-handed Rasengan, Naruto cocks his fist back. Applying wind chakra to it, Naruto roars out as he unleashes the attack.

"Rasengan: Shunki!" Naruto roars as the beam of chakra blasts forward and destroyed the crocodile Grimm.

The Grimm split in half before turning into black dust. The others roar out, charging at him. Naruto took a deep breath before charging at the nearest one. He leaps up and then crashes both of his fists down onto the beast. The power of Sage Mode made the beast slammed into the ground, shattering all its bone armor and itself.

Landing on top of it, Naruto gripped its head with chakra from his feet before rolling forward and ripping it off. He threw the head at its sole surviving kin, it roared and ran at Naruto on all fours. The golden eye blonde roars in return as he charged.

A heartbeat later, Naruto had punched the beast literally in half. The last of the Grimm that had attacked him flowed in the winds as black dust. Naruto stood there, taking a deep breath as he deactivated Sage Mode.

Walking back toward his pack he found where one of them had crushed it. His eyes widened as he got his scrolls out, finding some of them destroyed. The ones that were destroyed had the food stored in it, he growls and throws the broken tattered scrolls toward the desert.

"Fuck," Naruto screamed in frustration while punching the ground. "goddamn it, fuck, fuck!"

He yells out into the desert, "who else wants some?!"

Suddenly the sands explode with a giant wormlike Grimm emerging from the sand, heading right for the oasis. It was as tall as one of the tallest buildings in Vacuo. Jumping out of the way, Naruto watches as the Worm Grimm literally eats the oasis.

Beyond enraged Naruto reactivates Sage Mode, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

Five clones appear beside him, each one holding out their hands to the original Naruto, forming two sets of Rasenshuriken. The ground shook from underneath them, Naruto nodded to his clones and one reached over while activating Sage Mode itself and throwing him into the air.

The giant Worm Grimm emerged, its black mass and bony armor jingled and swam through the sand. However, its maw wide opened, it obviously couldn't see the bladed sphere of a Rasenshuriken enter its throat. Followed by another being thrown toward the ground where some Grimm had dropped off after catching a ride with it.

The beast roars in pain just before the midsection suddenly explains into a wind dome that shreds it apart. The blonde landed back in the desert sand, feeling the last of his nature chakra reserves leave him. Spitting onto the ground, Naruto just breathes hard, still furious.

Then horror dawned upon him, he turned toward the hole that had been an oasis. Luckily, somehow his backpack was still there, he just took a seat on the sand. Taking deep breaths to calm down, Naruto just watched as clouds rolled by under the desert sun.

"Maybe leaving Vacuo was not such a well thought out plan," Naruto thought aloud. "Oh well, I guess there's no turning back now, right Kurama?"

The silence hit him hard, he just looked at the sand, "oh yeah…you're not here…not anymore."

A lone tear left his eye as Naruto Uzumaki huddled himself together on the sand. He'd just wait for nightfall. Better to travel under the cover of darkness anyway, less chance of running into bandits. The teen just took one last deep breath before it finally started to hit him.

There was no one else out there but him, he was truly all alone now.

 ** _(So, a bit of a surprise, and I'm not telling you when…Dearest is getting remade. Also, Suiton: Rasenbakuha means Water Style: Rasengan Explosion. All the rest are actual Jutsu from the show, take care and bless._**

 ** _Side note #2: how are you liking it so far?)_**


	5. Season One Episode Five: Live

Naruto found himself roaming The Great Desert. Walking over a sand dune the blonde hero just stopped and sat down. He watches as clouds roll over mountains in the far-off distance, his pack was beaten up, and he himself had a few sunburns. Desert fauna flew above him, birds of prey, seeking his meat if she should keel over and not get back up.

This empty void of dust and endless night left time to reflect. Perhaps he was reckless, and this was his punishment?

Stopping as he saw a small patch of savanna grass, Naruto licks his dried lips. They were chaffed, and he was slowly becoming dehydrated. Water release seemed like the easiest way out. Just create your own water, but that's not exactly how it works. You could, technically, create your own water. However, overall, you'll be finding that your wasting massive amounts of chakra to transform the energy into water. Then, to top it off, since you were already starving and dehydrated, you lowered your chakra pool and won't be recovering it as fast.

Its an example of balance. One must maintain a healthy body to keep chakra recovery and strength, if one was under an ailment, their entirety was weakened.

But, that one patch of grass meant that Naruto was coming to an end of his long desert journey. Sleepless nights because of Grimm, the entire week of traveling, alone. He almost broke down one night, Kurama wasn't there, no one was.

He thought he knew what it meant to be alone, but in truth, he was never truly _all alone_.

Resuming his walk forward Naruto found that winds had grown, faster and faster. Taking the map out of his pack, Naruto looked at it. The nearest town was Shajara, it was a border town, right at the foot of The Splitting Mountains.

Shajara was his mission, get there and rest up, push forward later into the wilderness. Taking a nutrient-rich candy bar of sorts, Naruto bit into it. He had packed plenty of food with him, the food that got destroyed by the Giant Sandworm Grimm was just some of it that he kept in specific scrolls.

Eating the bar quickly, Naruto began his walk at a faster pace. Closing his eyes, he felt that Nature Chakra was slowly increasing around him. That meant good things, and the best thing of all, water. Naruto took off at a full sprint, throwing caution to the wind as he followed the Nature Chakra.

He wasn't using chakra to speed up, he was using his stamina to keep up in pace with himself. That's when he found what he came for, coming to the stop at a tree. He was giddy, he was hardly able to contain himself as he started clawing at the sand with his hands.

Until he hit mud.

"Bingo!" Naruto screamed aloud.

The tree's natural water well, which was full, was muddy. However, with no choice, Naruto quickly dipped his head in and took slurps of the lukewarm water. Ignoring the bugs that fell into it, he just moaned in glee at the water washing into his system.

Finishing the gluttonous bout of hydration, Naruto pulled himself up from the hole he dug. Breathing hard, rolling to his side, Naruto just gave a laugh. His face was muddy now, his hands had clumps of mud on them. However, he didn't mind it, in fact, he reached and covered the sunburns with mud.

Wiping his arms with mud, Naruto made sure to coolest patches onto his skin. Leaning against the tree, Naruto closes his eyes and just found himself unable to stop laughing.

"Yeah, that's right, I'm still alive assholes!" Naruto yelled out in laughter.

He flicked off the desert in front of him, "your giant worms, and your frigging bipedal crocs can go kiss my blonde skinny ass!"

"Woo!" Naruto celebrates.

Getting up, filling his canteen, the former Jinchuuriki takes stock and just looked toward the mountains in the horizon.

* * *

Shajara was a small town, it was walled with stone, the town had some trees in it. Mostly surrounded by savannah grass, its tallest buildings were the guard towers at the very corners of the town. The blonde had changed his clothes when he got near the town, using a nearby river to bathe himself so he didn't look like some crazy person.

The river had a much better taste than the tree well's water did. Getting to the gates of the town, the guards stopped him.

"Hold there, traveler," the guard stopped Naruto. "State your business."

"Just passing through, looking for a warm bed and a hot shower, the desert was brutal. By the way guys, do you know what day it is?" Naruto inquires, seeing if he kept an accurate track of his days.

"It is May Fourth," the guard answered and looked at his partner with a nod. "You may enter, please do not cause any disturbances."

Getting into the gates Naruto saw that the structures were made of concrete. The town had a very rustic look, aged with scuff marks across the buildings. He found what he was looking for quickly, an inn. Walking toward it, Naruto saw some people giving him some looks. Perhaps they're sizing him up, maybe it had to do with the sunburns on his face and such.

Making his way toward the inn, Naruto saw the name of it, _The Gentle Breeze_.

Entering _The Gentle Breeze_ , Naruto found that the smell of fresh made his mouth water. Walking over to the counter, the teen took a seat while shrugging his pack off. A bartender turned toward him, she had a smile on her face as walked over toward him.

She was obviously a few years his senior, "Hey there hon, how can I help you."

"Um," Naruto smelled the food in the air. "What's that I'm smelling?"

"Oh, that, that's our signature meat pie." Naruto's eyes lit up at her answer.

The blonde composes himself, "I would like a meat pie and a room for a couple of nights, please."

"Sure, thing hon," the woman watches him get his money out. "It'll be two hundred liens."

Smiling, the woman took the money, putting it into a register. The woman walks toward the back, Naruto could hear some talking before she comes out with a plate. The food steaming hot, Naruto's mouth was watering as he quickly reached over to the knife and began to carve away.

He didn't care how it looked, he quickly dug in. Tearing through the meat pie with no hope of missing a moment of it. Finishing his piece of meat pie, Naruto leaned back and patted his stomach, did he seriously feel full?

 _'_ _Man, that was good, can't wait to tell…'_ Naruto sighed as he looked at down at the plate, no wonder he felt full, _'Kurama…'_

"You alright there, sugar, need some more?" The bartender asked as she picked up his plate.

Naruto nods, "please, also…do you by chance have any alcohol?"

"Sure do," The Bartender laughed as she looked at him. "You Sixteen?"

"Yeah, I'm seventeen," Naruto answered.

"Okay then, what would you like?" The Bartender inquired as she walked over to the display cooler.

The blonde just sighed, "I just want a couple of beers, best you can think of miss…"

"Rothschild, Ivory Rothschild," the woman told him her name. "You?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto answered as he nodded his head as she handed him his beer. "Thank you."

* * *

The blonde's day went by quickly, he watched television, regarding recent events in Vacuo and Vale. How in Vale City there was apparently robberies happening at the docks there, and some douchebag named Roman Torchwick was just making life difficult.

There was also The White Fang being in the news. From what Naruto learned in Vacuo, each country had a different sect, and apparently, Vale's sect was rife with corruption. Slowly, he felt his buzz coming on, he finished his last beer. The teen just leaned back in the wooden chair before watching as the sun went down from outside the window.

Watching as the repeat of the same news report came on for the umpteenth time, Naruto got up. He stumbles past the bartender, a guy this time while grabbing his pack and key. Walking up the stairs, the blonde makes his way toward his door.

There, he walked into his room. Stripping off his clothing, the teen found his way into the bathroom. He saw that it was a standing shower, not too different than some of the hotels he had stayed in the elemental nations.

Turning the shower on, Naruto walked inside and allowed the hot water to wash over him. Slowly, he just leans against the back wall as the hot water washes over him. It started hitting him hard, now, it hurt. He felt his heart shatter as he slid down the wall, sobbing his clutched his face.

"Fuck," Naruto cursed as he shook his head. "Damn it!"

Crouched down, holding himself as the water washes over him. The drunk teen was looking at his reflection, he just leaned his head on the glass. He sobbed as his drunkenness took hold, slurring curses at himself and at anyone willing to listen.

The teen just trailed back to memories, memories of friends, and his first true family. The times he first learned a Jutsu, the time he thought of someone as more than just a friend. The first time even he made love to a girl, and how it affected him.

Naruto was lonely, he felt alone, he needed contact and needed connection. That was part of the reason he just did his thing with Rosa, he wasn't even sure in his drunken state of mind, looking back on it. Was he using her, or was she using him?

He didn't mind the sex, the sex was the best his limit experience had to offer, yet every time it was empty. That's probably why he wanted to leave Vacuo, no sooner than he got done with helping them out, it had everything to do with just wanting to be away.

Only for him to become lonely again, all so alone. Huddled under the hot water of the shower, Naruto just wanted to wake up. He wanted to wake up for the last six months, he just wanted to see Kurama's smug face.

He'd even settle on the black void again. Closing his eyes, he just silently rocked himself back and forth in the shower. He didn't feel like he was "Naruto" anymore, just a toy, all he was, was just a toy. He was a plaything, he hated that feeling, he squeezed his hands until it bled.

Shutting his eyes together even tighter, Naruto just focused on nothing, and soon…felt nothing.

* * *

Floating around a void, Naruto watches memories fall into place around him. All his friends, were they waiting for him, or had they moved on? Did Hinata go to have a happy life? Sasuke and Sakura, did they have a child or two, did Sasuke stay this time?

Was Konohamaru being groomed to be The Nanadaime Hokage? The teen twists, turning to the invisible punches that came with happy memories. This had to be a nightmare, he just wanted to wake up, he didn't want to be asleep anymore. Even if he woke up a Zetsu, he just wanted to wake up.

This eternal dream was nothing but an eternal nightmare. Breathing hard, he screamed as he fell into a deeper part of the void. Watching as his dreams started to fade, he was coming apart, he was literally coming apart at the seams.

No needle to piece him back together again! Humpty Dumpty had fallen off the wall one too many times and can never be put back together again!

"Naruto-san," Naruto's eyes widened at the voice. "Are you okay?"

Naruto's eyes widened as tears refracted the light from himself as they traveled up. Hagaromo floats right in front of him, facing him, eye to eye. The blonde just looked at the old Sage before sighing. The sigh reverberated across the dark void.

He answers The Sage of Six Paths, "no…"

"I don't know if you're just an illusion," Naruto gripped his head as he grimaced. "I'm losing my mind, I have trouble sleeping sometimes…I…I just want to know if they're okay, I can't…"

"Naruto-san," Hagaromo placed his hand on Naruto's head. "If you remember the vision you had, when you were in a coma, that was real."

"So," Naruto looked away as he scrunches his face up. "All I am is just some _toy_ to someone, because I took out someone close to him or something?!"

Naruto's felt emotions running through him, "why me huh?! What did I ever do, I'm not a toy, I'm a person! I'm not a toy, I have friends and family!"

He whimpers as he looked upon the void around him, "you don't know what they want…do you?"

"I don't know," Hagaromo answered Naruto as he continued to float with the boy. "Now that I'm away from The Light God, I can speak freely however."

Naruto's eyes widened, "so, you…hid something?"

"For your safety," Hagaromo reassured the teen. "I do not trust them, I have no love for them, they are not kin to me."

The blonde took a deep breath, "so, if he can't hear us…he lied?"

"Yes," The Sage revealed as he floated with Naruto. "The truth is that they _are_ Gods, but they aren't Omnipotent, Omnipresent, or Omniscient."

The blonde's eyes blinked, "Omni-what?"

"Ah," Hagaromo sighed as he rubbed his nose. "I forgotten that you aren't much on big words. All-powerful, everywhere and nowhere, and all-knowing. That's what Omni and its root words mean, from what I gathered they are what they say they are to an extent."

Naruto felt his body turn, landing on solid ground. The Sage of Six Paths lands in front of him, clapping his hands as the world shifted around him. They ended up in a void of blue, Naruto looked at the void, noting white orbs floating toward a golden light.

"Welcome to The Pure World," The Sage of Six Paths revealed to Naruto. "My domain."

"So," Naruto noted that no one else was near them. "By your domain…you mean, you are a _God_ as well?"

"Correct," Hagaromo stopped him while he replied. "I am The God of The Cycle."

"The…Cycle?" Naruto questioned the older Sage.

Hagaromo laughs as he sat on the ground, "The Cycle of Life and Death. Those who pass must walk into the light and be judged for their misdeeds and goodness."

"It's like good and bad karma?" Naruto asks.

"Correct," Hagaromo chuckled, "and I don't even have to put into laymen terms."

Naruto suddenly remembered, "crap I was in the shower, what if someone thinks I passed out?"

"Don't worry, here, I effectively can speed up and slow down time…well…in your subconscious anyway." Hagaromo watches as a soul floats past him.

Naruto recognized the soul, "isn't that…Onoki?"

"It would seem The Sandaime Tsuchikage passed away, his soul is weighed heavy by the burdens of life he carried with him. I fear," The Sage of Six Paths lowered his head. "That those regrets will poison his reincarnation."

"So, wait a minute, time out. _Everything_ and _everyone_ have the same cycle as Indra and Ashura had?" Naruto was freaking out as he asked, "that's terrifyingly awesome…"

"Not exactly, most people die and get reincarnated as different people. Their souls are the same, they just wipe the slate clean. Souls like yours and Sasuke however have bond, that bond has transcended many incarnations. A brotherhood, oath, rivalry, brothers in arms, enemies, brothers, sisters, sisterhood and even lovers in one instance." Naruto blushed a little bit as Hagaromo explained it to him.

Hagaromo giggles a little bit, "and that was the most awkward time involving my children's reincarnation cycle."

Naruto's eyes widened a little bit, he retched slightly, "but wouldn't that be incest?"

"Not…so much, you see though the chakra would be passed along a distant relative, they aren't much cousins as one would be to a best friend at that point," Hagaromo explained to Naruto, putting him at ease.

"No kidding," Naruto nervously laughed while rubbing the back of his head.

The blonde watches as yellow souls floated in the sky, "so, I'm guessing those are people getting reborn?"

"No," Hagaromo shook his head, "new souls."

Naruto saw these lights float up and across a dark blue sky, "people being born for the first time?"

"Yes," Hagaromo confirmed as Naruto took a seat on the ground. "Yet, with these talks, your thoughts linger to Sasuke?"

Naruto nods, "do they think I'm dead?"

Hagaromo remained silent for a bit, sighing he finally answers Naruto's question, "yes."

"Hagaromo err…Senin-Jiji," Naruto watches the many spirits cascade away into the skies. "You were saying something about the others earlier, about The Light God…"

"Ah yes," Hagaromo turned to Naruto, "I suspect that he has you here for a reason. I don't know when he will come to you with a mission, but I will ask that you be wary. He hides many things, I can sense that much."

Naruto lowered his head, "why can't you just send me back?"

"I don't have that power," Hagaromo lamented as he lowered his head.

A small sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he looked up, "I don't know what to do…"

Hagaromo looked at Naruto, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Do as you _must_ but do only what is _needed_."

Naruto nods as he sits down, "So, what happened with Sasuke…and Sakura?"

"They're in a relationship, Sasuke was pardoned, and is on the road to becoming The Nanadaime Hokage," Hagaromo answered Naruto, watching the blonde wince slightly.

Naruto took a deep breath before smiling, "I'm glad, really, I am."

"Kakashi Hatake visits your grave often," suddenly the landscape shifts to show Kakashi at Naruto's grave.

It was at the top of The Hokage Monument, Naruto's favorite spot in the village beside Ichiraku. He saw Kakashi sitting by his grave. Chuckling somewhat despite his saddened look as he read that little orange book of his. Something, even now, annoyed Naruto to no end.

Naruto walks forward, reaching out to Kakashi, only for his hand to pass right through him. Naruto frowned, watching as an insect took flight, only to watch it repeat its actions. This wasn't a real-time image, just something Hagaromo was showing him.

Hagaromo watches as Naruto took another deep breath, he then smiled as the blonde started to take control. Slowly, but surely, it came to where Sasuke was studying the _massive_ number of books. Sakura was standing behind him, cooking him something to eat in an apartment that looked all too familiar.

"They," the blonde realized something, "they took my apartment?"

"They felt that it would be a shame if they didn't use it," Hagaromo told Naruto as he walked around the room. "He chuckled slightly as he saw the clean room, they're mourning you still."

Naruto clenched his eyes, tears spilled from them, "Sasuke-teme…Sakura-chan…"

The blonde then took notice of something, it was a bulge in Sasuke's pocket, a box shape. He stopped crying, then looked at his brother in arms. He had a smile on his face, a genuine smile, a contented one. Something that Sasuke rarely had, even as kids, he simply looked happy.

Sakura did as well, she was cooking…Miso?

"So," Naruto breathed in. "What advice can you give me?"

"Our time draws to a close, Naruto-san," Hagaromo watched as the void began to collapse. "This realm is open to you when you sleep or meditate, as for my advice…live.'

The void glows bright, blinding Naruto.

* * *

Naruto woke up in the shower, the water was still hot and steamy. The teen got up, watching as the steam rolls of his skin. His scar pained him a little bit as he thought of Sasuke, but slowly he brought himself up to his feet. Checking himself, Naruto just found that everything was normal, and took a deep breath.

"Holy crap," Naruto gasped a little as he clenched his head. "That was weird."

Finishing with his shower Naruto simply got out and dried off. He looked at his face, some stubble had been allowed to grow. Taking a deep breath Naruto just rubbed the stubble, he'd clean it up later if he felt like it. Walking into his room the hero of The Shinobi World took to putting on his undergarments and a pair of string shorts after unsealing them from a scroll.

The blonde slowly made his way over toward a remote control, turning on the small T.V in the room. Looking flipping through the channels he settled on a channel displaying something called Sci-Fi. Watching as a horribly mutated monster chased people in a train of sorts, somewhere deep underground.

"Biohazard Two?" Naruto mouthed out as he read the words, "huh, sounds interesting…and it has a marathon?"

Still feeling slightly buzzed Naruto just sat down on the floor, leaning on the bed for support and comfort as he began to watch the movie. A person screamed at another named Leone, while the person screaming was a girl named Claire.

 _"_ _Leon, catch!"_ Claire shouted as she handed the man a magazine for his pistol.

The man caught it, _", Claire, we need to get this train disconnected!"_

 _"_ _I'm working on it, just kill the bastard, so we can get out of here with Sherry!"_ Claire yelled at Leon as they start working on their ends to beat the mutant.

Naruto hums a little as he watches it go down, "neat."

Naruto was doing crunches as the series went into the fifth movie. His muscles ached as he counted out his five hundredth crunch, he had started them since the fourth movie. He was bored out of his mind, nothing to do. He hadn't had anything left to think about either.

Nothing he could do would change the situation at large, he was stuck. So, finishing his set, he stops as sweat rolled down his body. Getting up from the floor, Naruto just climbs up into the bed. Laying his head on the twin bed, the pillow was very soft and offered him something better than couches or the inn beds at Vacuo City.

Rolling to his side, Naruto just stares at the wall. Taking a deep breath as he lulls himself to sleep.

* * *

Waking early in the morning the blonde decided to go for a walk. He walks through the dusty roads of Shajara, looking at the desert trees that the city apparently got its name for. The Shajara Tree, a tree that blooms in winter and dies in spring, the opposite of most trees.

Its flowers were on display in various shops, these desert flowers were rare, and acted as Vacuo's Alstroemeria. A flower that symbolized both patience and honor, a custom at Vacuoian Weddings. Walking over to a stand that was selling them, about thirty liens per flower, Naruto saw the little white flowers blowing in the breeze.

The man maintaining the stand looked at Naruto, "hey there youngster, are you looking for a flower for a significant other?"

"No," Naruto answered. "I'm just looking."

"Aye," the man sighed. "The Shajara Tree Flower is truly a beauty. Shajara is one of the few places that grow them regularly, they often get shipped via Bullheads toward Vale…but they lose such luster."

The man then laughed, "sorry, where are my manners, I'm Verde."

"I'm Naruto," Naruto greeted the man. "It's nice meeting you Verde."

"Likewise, young man," Verde then sighed. "You wouldn't happen to be on your way into Vale, would you?"

"Yeah," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That was going to be my next destination."

"There's a Giant Grimm by the name of Poseidon that rests it head in the mountains. I would stick along the coastlines, you may lose a few days in your journey, but you'll be able to get there in one piece." Verde told Naruto as the teen crossed his arms.

Naruto took a deep breath, "is there a reward for this Poseidon thing?"

"Are you a mercenary?" Verde inquired.

The blonde nods as he looked into the man's bright green eyes, "yes…what does this Poseidon Grimm look like?"

"It has the shape of a man, but it is large. Its skin is hardened by bone, it has one single eye at the top of its head. The beast has a trident made of bone, perhaps, it is intelligent enough to make it from the bones of another Grimm. Many that have survived the beast say that it can channel lightning through the trident, but…yet…I fear any mercenary before…and Huntsmen sent…have perished." Verde sighed as he looked at his flowers. "The beast has killed so many would be heroes."

"One of which was my brother," Verde admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "idiot…was always looking for a good fight."

Naruto sighs, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to open old wounds."

"It's quite alright," Verde waved Naruto off. "It's been few a years anyhow."

"So," Naruto looked around. "What could I do to prove that I killed Poseidon?"

"The Beast's lair is in the very center of The Mountains, on an old trade road. If you kill it," Verde took a deep breath. "If I manage to kill it, you could take a caravan along the mountain pass. The Old Trade road leads directly to Vale City."

Naruto nods and then smiled, "guess I can't back out if it is to where I need to go…especially if it saves me time."

"Don't be foolish, kid, many of better women and men have tried, what makes you so sure you'd come out on top?" Verde questioned Naruto.

Naruto smirks, "I have my ways, just you wait and see."


	6. Season One Episode Six: Poseidon

(So, what would your thoughts be if I changed this to Weiss? Just curious.)

* * *

The Border Mountains were a vast stretch of mountains that stretched along the mid part of Sanus. A natural divide used to mark the border of Vacuo and Vale. The weather quickly changed from the hot and dry climate of a desert to that of a boreal forest.

Each step along the mountains took you up, and up until you started to feel the chills of cold rain. Naruto was walking with a parka on as snow fell around him. He was slightly intrigued by how weather could change so fast, but that had to wait.

Shajara was a day's trip, and he'd surely have to go back there to gather some supplies before going to Vale City. The people said that this Poseidon Grimm resided in this very mountain trail. That it was bigger than three hours standing on top of each other.

Coming over a small hill, Naruto saw why it could hide so easily. In the center of this flat mountain top was a large lake. There were caves all around the lake, the water was dirty and from what Naruto could _feel_ it was being tainted by something under the water.

Pulling the hood of his park off his head, Naruto already knew he was being watched. The several small Grimm he killed on the way up here seemed to be the guards. They were demonic wolf looking creatures called Beowolfs, and from Naruto understood, Vale was abundant with them.

He checked over his gear, he bought a few throwing knives from a blacksmith, putting the seal paper around them with his version of The Hiraishin No Jutsu formula. Getting the knife out Naruto felt of his weapon, spinning it in his hand before getting ready.

The seal paper was held tight by chakra, his formula seal glowing briefly as he applied chakra to it. Unlike his father's formula, or even The Nidaime Hokage's, Naruto's seal was in the style of The Uzumaki Clan symbol. He didn't really need to come up with custom formula, but he thought he'd give it a flare of his own identity.

Readying himself, Naruto watched things became still. The water even stopped moving, save for the wind blowing across it. The birds stopped, the little forest critters were nowhere in sight. All of these pointed toward a tension gathering in the air.

It felt like war drums beating right before a charge. Thunder rolled across the area as giant flashes of lightning filled the sky above. Naruto took a single step forward before all the tension broke loose. The water of the lake rippled before a massive column exploded upward. A boulder covered in dark moss was hurled toward the blonde who merely formed a Rasengan to counter it.

The boulder exploded just as Naruto saw the beast emerge.

The beast, Poseidon, had a large figure. It was covered head to toe in the bone armor most normal Grimm had. Save, this armor was very thick, and it stood as tall as the villager's said it would have. An impressive nine meters, with a large trident of sorts, firmly grasped in its left hand.

Poseidon had one eye, in the very middle of its face, and a fishlike face with many rows of sharp teeth. It roars out at Naruto, the blonde watching as electricity crackled around trident it held. The monster slammed its clawed hand into the water as it started walking toward the bank of the lake.

Naruto watches it slowly shuffle toward him.

Its single bright red eye glared at him before it suddenly took off in a full-blown sprint. Naruto's eyes widened as he didn't expect something so large to be so fast, without preparing himself properly Naruto was forced to make a Rasengan to counter the beast's charge.

The massive Grimm roars out as it stumbled back, Naruto was about to attack before the beast raised the trident up and caused lightning to fall toward it before its body glowed. Naruto's reflexes kicked in as he activated Sage Mode and he dodged the stream of lightning that came from the beast's mouth as he channeled the natural lightning through its body.

Skidding across the ground to the side of the beast, Naruto jumps toward the small lake. Landing on the water he turns around and forms a Rasenshuriken. Roaring out at the beast he throws the bladed ball of wind and chakra; its screech filled the air as it flew toward its target.

Only for something to throw very dense bolder and force the attack to detonate a few meters short of the target. Naruto looked for the source only to find a similar looking beast to Poseidon reaching for another boulder, obviously, these Grimm were much more intelligent than he realized.

 _'_ _The Beowolfs that attacked me also worked in packs,'_ Naruto backflips out of the way as he observed another Grimm emerge from a cave.

The blonde dashes to the side, sliding across the water on occasion to avoid other boulders. He ran full sprint toward the boulder throwing Grimm, Cyclops, and leaped upward. Naruto was about to near them when Poseidon intercepted him, Naruto grunted as he blocked a swipe from the trident.

Energy crackles around the mighty weapon, but it dissipated when it hit Naruto. Smirking, the blonde used the trident as footing before launching himself backward. He lands on the water with a slid, looking up as a very large boulder heads right for him.

Using a chakra enhanced punch, Naruto shattered the next boulder heading for him. Leaping backward the blonde twists around as he formed two Rasenshuriken. Sliding across the water as he landed on it, Naruto launches the balls of energy.

Naruto watches as he made the Rasenshuriken split upon the halfway point, going into different directions. The smaller Grimm couldn't react in time as the balls hit them, exploding and creating wind domes that churned the clouds that were just barely above the battlefield.

The lightning struck the Trident again and the beast aimed right at Naruto. It fired off a massive stream of lightning from its mouth. Naruto jumped away from the lake as the stream impacted it, electrifying the waters.

With some effort, Naruto managed to land on a nearby ledge, near one of the cave entrances.

He suddenly felt a presence behind him. Tossing the throwing knife up Naruto merely smirked as he teleported to the knife using Hiraishin No Jutsu before coming back down with Ōdama Rasengan. He slams the upgraded Rasengan into the back of the Cyclops Grimm before blasting it toward The Poseidon as it entered the electrified waters with its trident raised up.

Naruto's eyes widened as the electricity in the water suddenly started to gather at the Trident. The creature roars out before hurling at Naruto like a spear. His eyes widened, he immediately formed a Rasengan covered in wind chakra in time to deflect the trident before leaping off his ledge. The trident's charge attracted a massive thunderbolt soon afterward, destroying the ledge he had been on.

Angling himself, Naruto grips a nearby rockface with his feet using chakra. The massive beast roars out as it started running along the shallower parts of the lake towards him. Electricity crackles around its body as it got closer, Naruto heard ticking noises as the electricity reached a fever pitch. Then on the fifth tick, the beast launched itself out of the water, just as a massive bolt of lightning launched itself from the heavens. It struck the beast, supercharging it as it began to pulse lightning off its body.

Naruto jumped away as the beast left the water, all the electricity following it as it did. Landing on the water, the Shinobi slid across the lake using wind chakra as a propellant. He turns and watches as Poseidon roars out in frustration.

The blonde smirks, "what's the matter, big guy? You can kill dozens of people at once, but you can't even beat me?"

Reaching into his pouch Naruto got out several throwing knives, readying them. The titan of a Grimm jumps back down into the water, causing a massive wave charged with electricity. The teen hurls the throwing knives as hard as he could, his Sage Mode running out in the process. A serious look made it across his face as the knives breached the wave just as it was about to hit him.

The beast roared out, it was sure in its victory until Naruto warped to one of the knives. He uses a wind release technique to blast the others ahead of him, the beast's eyes widened as Naruto used Kage Bunshin. Three other Narutos formed beside the original, a cascade of light of filled the area as each clone began teleporting to a pair of throwing knives.

"Alright," Naruto screamed as teleported out of his throwing knife near the beast. "Eat this, you big bastard!"

The clones and original shouted in unison, "Bōfū Rendan!"

The first clone impacted the beast's abdomen area with a Ōdama Rasengan improved by Wind Chakra, angling it upward. The beast roars out in pain as it starts going into the air. Naruto smirked as he saw cracks form in its armor. His second clone landed on the water as one of the throwing knives impacted the small lake below them.

That same clone weaved hand seals, "Suiton: Mizu Tatsumaki!"

A massive vortex of water rose up, engulfing the blades and the rest of the clones as lightning impacted the watery tornado. Naruto and two other clones inside watches as Poseidon screams out, his clones nodded as they formed Rasenshuriken. Naruto grabs them by their legs before throwing him hard at the beast.

Naruto smirked as the clones impacted Poseidon, shattering its armor. It forced the monster to drop its trident, which got caught in the winds of the twister. The twister began to slowly compress itself, Naruto used the wind and his baggy clothing to float away as the beast tried to call forth more lightning. However, with the wind chakra canceling out any lightning, Naruto smirked as the beast merely struggled.

The beast's arms began to get ripped off by the high shearing force of the wind around them. Weaving hand seals, all of them based on Jutsu he had seen in the past, he saw his chance at breaking the armor around the neck.

He rushed the mighty beast, flying toward him by using wind chakra at his feet and the updraft from his other Jutsu. Roaring out as he cocked his fist back, a swirl of wind forming around it, Naruto launches a mighty blow against the neck of the beast which broke the armor around it.

Flying backward in order to avoid getting bitten and torn apart. Naruto clapped his hands. Using his chakra Naruto formed chakra wires as he launches himself by using wind chakra. The wires wrapped around the beast's neck just as he flew past. A sharp tug from the blonde was all that needed, without needing to fear electricity from the beast, Naruto pulled the wires tightly.

The head of Poseidon came off, just as the tornado of water died down. Naruto lands on the nearby sure, a loud boom sounded as the beast's body turned pure black before exploding into black dust. The teen landed on a nearby ledge, watching as the dust faded to the wind.

He saw some other Grimm, Beowolfs and a jellyfish looking one scurry away. He stands there, watching as the waters slowly came to be still once more. The mighty trident slammed into the earth just above Naruto, the blonde swallowed a bit as he'd totally forgotten about the weapon.

Since it didn't disappear with Poseidon, Naruto had his way of proving victory. Feeling natural energy returning to the area in troves, Naruto smiled as he entered Sage Mode. He walked over to the trident and gripped it with chakra. The massive weapon was probably two stories high at the very least, and it was _heavy_. Naruto pulled it from the earth that it sunk into, he held it up above his head in Sage Mode before turning around and began to walk toward the edge of the cliff he was situated on.

He faced the old road that Verde had talked about, the trail leading to Vale City. Without much ceremony the blonde roars out before throwing the trident down into the trail. He leaped off the cliff edge, landing on the ground with a hard thump, and standing back up easily.

* * *

Verde looked at a picture of his family, noting his younger brother. The young man was dressed in his Huntsmen attire. Looking up at The Border Mountains, the man had watched an even younger man walk toward the mountains. He had already gathered Shajara Flowers to honor the young lad's sacrifice.

As pointless as it would be.

Suddenly, there was silence in the village. Guards running toward the entrance, Verde was on edge. Usually when that happened there was a massive bandit raid about to happen, but instead, there was…cheering? Verde found himself walking toward the gates, seeing the young man before…lugging a mighty trident of black bone.

The blonde roars out as he slammed the trident blades first into the ground in front of the village. He fell to his knees, breathing hard. Many of the guards looked at each other, then began to cheer louder than before.

This was real, Poseidon was dead!

Some of the guards ran over, grabbing Naruto and hoisting him up. They didn't care how he had done it; the monster was dead!

Verde looked at the blonde teenager and then toward the mountains. He found himself smiling as he noted a bright little light at the very peak. It was green in color, the same color as his brother's aura. He nodded, watching the light slowly drift into the skies. His brother's soul was probably restless over the failure, and now that had been remedied at last.

 _"_ _The beast is slain, the beast is slain, praise to Gods above, the beast is slain!"_

He heard people chant as they carried the blonde, a chant that was old to Shajara. Naruto had a goofy smile across his face, but that didn't matter. The teen had done the impossible in Verde's eyes.

* * *

Naruto was with a lot of people in the inn, many of them clamored around him as he weaved a very _edited_ tale of how he killed Poseidon. The teen motioned with his hands, telling them how he had come upon some Dust deposits on the way there.

Which was true, there was a lot of Dust in the mountains.

He had made a bomb out of Burn Dust and Wind Dust, managing it shove it down the beast's throat when it tried to eat him. The other Grimm, Cyclops Grimm, tried to swarm him but he managed to use his semblance to fight on even ground. The blonde demonstrated his s _emblance_ by entering Sage Mode. Telling them how it improved all his combat abilities, and that it was a semblance based down to him.

Dancing to music, the inn had cleared some tables out to make a dance floor as the entire village celebrated. People outside were throwing a festival as well, with the trident moved into the center of the village as a trophy.

Naruto was wearing some new clothing he got for this night's occasion. Free of charge, of course, he indulged a little bit as the red silk robe he wore fluttered in the wind as he danced with some of the people. He showed no interest to any of them, instead, he just danced with people while drinking.

That's the one thing that caught Verde's eye, Naruto was a heavy drinker. However, it was a small price to pay for a village plagued by that bastard Grimm. The young lad wasn't demanding anything in return, he just went and did his duty. The songs died down as the village leader came into the inn, he was an older man with gray hair and light brown eyes.

He shuffled toward Naruto, hunching over with his hands behind his back, "ah, The Slayer of Poseidon."

Naruto stopped dancing, looking at the older man, "yes?"

"I just want to say thank you, on behalf of all Shajara and greater Vacuo. The trade road will allow us to prosper once again," the old man took Naruto's hand, shaking it. "Please, indulge in our town's delights. Drink, eat, and celebrate your victory."

Naruto chuckles a little bit, "thanks Dattebayo."

"Do not thank me, you could ask for payment, but you haven't so we do this out of free will. The people have been needing this good news for a very long time, it was about time someone delivered our greatest news. The Great Grimm Poseidon is dead!" The old man yelled joyously.

Naruto smiled as he began to converse with the old man.

* * *

Waking up the next morning Naruto felt groggy. The teen got up, stumbling slightly as he went into the bathroom. He retches as he throws up in a toilet. He had drunk a lot last night; a lot more than he did the previous few nights. The alcohol helped him sleep, helped him keep his head clear, the loneliness at bay.

The teen took a deep breath as he took his clothing off and walked into the shower. Turning the water on, the blonde rests his head against the glass. He had a splitting headache, he slowly found his vision going in and out.

Falling to the side, Naruto grunts in pain as he clutched his head as he faced the light. He struggled to get back up, his breathing became labored as he grimaces in pain. The teen took a moment, gathering himself to stand back up. He felt something run out of his nose, discovering little bits of blood dripping from it.

Weaving hand seals, Naruto pressed his glowing palms against his forehead. Taking deep breaths as his healing Jutsu began to take effect. Slowly, the headache began to die down. Becoming a minor migraine. He was slightly shaken by the fact his nose started bleeding, he holds his head up and spits out any excess blood that filled his mouth.

Grunting and lightly complaining, Naruto began to wash. Wiping the blood that had fell on his chest and his lips. He took deep breaths, for some reason he felt lightheaded. The light was really bothering him, so, he got out of the shower briefly to turn the lights down.

Turning toward the mirror however he found that his eyes weren't blue, they were bright red. Black with black sclera, he watched as the mirror imaged smirked before leaping out at him.

* * *

Naruto shot up as he clutched his face, "oh man, what the hell?"

Looking over to his side he saw that his clothes were discarded. The blonde heard his shower turn off, the rustling clothing filled his ears before a young woman ended up stepping out was a dark-haired beauty walk out. She looked at him, noting the look of confusion on her fashion. She just giggled, walking out of his room.

Her light blue eyes held a sense of playfulness about them.

His eyes widened slightly before he saw that a trashcan walk pulled up to his bed. Looking inside of it he sighed in relief, there would be no little Narutos running around after a night of debauchery. At least, not this time. The nightmare had woken him right up, he didn't know why it felt so real. His head slightly hurts, a minor migraine inside, his sinuses felt really swollen up as well.

Could he be getting sick?

Getting up, getting his clothes on. The blonde just tried to recall last nights events. There was a _lot_ of drinking and partying. The young woman that just walked out of his room had been someone else that wasn't from Shajara. In fact, she said that she was from Vale.

Clutching his head, he finished getting dressed and packed up his stuff. Stripping the bedsheets off the bed, putting them in a nearby hamper. It was a kindness to do so, after all, there might have been some type of _mess_ on the sheets.

Weaving hand seals he put the glowing palm on his head to help clear up the hangover. Taking a step outside of the room, Naruto yawns as he walked down the steps toward the inn's bar. He saw various bartenders and workers putting tables back into the room from the outside.

Verde was sitting there, "hey there sunny."

"Hey, Verde," Naruto greeted the man as he took a seat.

"Someone had a wild party," Verde commented as he looked Naruto over. "You got a hickey on your neck."

"Oh," Naruto rubbed the spot that Verde was pointing at. "Thanks, I guess."

"You know that girl that walked down the stairs wasn't half bad looking," Verde laughed a little. "So, tell me something kid, how does it feel being a celebrity?"

"Meh," Naruto groaned a little as he laid his head down. "Minus the hangover probably feels good."

"Since you were there, I didn't promise that girl anything didn't I?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You, no, her? A lot of things, all of them I'd like to keep in private. She was all over you, like bees to flowers." Verde laughed as he got a glass of water brought over to him, sliding it to Naruto.

The blonde nods and takes it. He began to chug it down, ice and all. He breathed a sigh of relief as the water quenched his thirst. Last night must've been very _active_ since he had scratch marks across his back and was very exhausted.

"Well, glad to see your alive. I have a gift for you actually," Verde reached over by him and handing Naruto a bundle Shajara flowers. "They're not real Shajara flowers, plastic ones. However, since you'll be leaving out it'll be something to remember us by."

"Thanks, Verde," Naruto thanked the man as he took the flowers. "So, when does the caravan leave to test the trail?"

"They leave in a few hours," Verde answered Naruto as he got up. "Well, I'll leave you to recover from a hangover."

"Verde," Naruto called out to the man. "You alright?"

"I'm fine kiddo, you brought me some peace, you're going down in the history books. I just wish that this town would remember my brother's sacrifice…" Verde sighs as he looked at Naruto, "however, I think you helped me and him move on from it all…my brother can now rest in peace since you killed that big bastard."

Naruto nods, "I understand the feeling, trust me I do."

"I do trust you," Verde yawned. "Well back to the store with me."

Getting up from the chair, Naruto walked out of the inn and into the streets Shajara while carrying his pack. The teen looked at the clear blue skies above him, sighing. The blonde then turned to see the girl that had been in his room earlier leaning against the inn.

"Bout time you woke up lover boy," the girl giggled as she winks at him. "You probably have a _lot_ of questions."

"Some," Naruto admitted as he leaned against the doorway. "Who are you?"

"I'm just a traveler, I'm heading to Vacuo City. Stopped by here, saw a party, and decided to join in the debauchery. I say though, kind of glad, it was fun last night. Have any regrets?" She inquired, though she had a sly smirk on her face.

More memories flooded Naruto's mind, "not particularly…but I really wished I got your name?"

"Meh," the young woman waved it off. "My name is Vernal."

"So, Vernal, why are you headed toward Vacuo?" Naruto asked as he looked at her.

She rolled her eyes with a smile, "I'm just doing a mission there, that's all I can say, lover."

Naruto blushed at the nickname, "um, thanks, Vernal…err…um…"

"My friends call me Blue Eyes," she walked over to him. "I do have to say; the moniker fits you better."

Naruto smiled slightly, "thanks, so…do we just go our separate ways?"

"You could tag along, but I'm not really looking for anything serious. Besides, what's the harm in a little bit of fun?"

 _'_ _No wonder I feel like crap,'_ Naruto thought with a fake smile. "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you around Vernal, hope you have a good journey…I'd avoid the giant Sandworms."

"Damn those things are real," Vernal laughed a little. "Raven is definitely going to owe me double, frigging death worms and bullshit."

"So, they're called Death Worms, I just called them assholes," Naruto told Vernal, making her laugh.

She rubbed the back of her head, "but that's too broad, Death Worms makes them sound cooler."

"Yeah, well, I think you'd be safer taking Bullhead there. I think Verde told me that they get a regular Bullhead in every Tuesday and Friday here. So," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "You should wait for one just to be on the safe side."

"I'll take it into consideration," she walked to him before kissing his cheek. "You have fun being a hero now, been hearing around town that's what you are."

"Um, thanks," Naruto blushed before she walks off.

The teen sighed, _'I really need to stop drinking…'_


	7. Season One Episode Seven: Apathy

Naruto walked with the caravan through the woods of Vale's giant forest. The last two days traveling had made Naruto think for a little bit. He had a beer bottle in his hand and was riding in a wagon. It was his turn to rest, while a Huntsmen took to the watch. They had made it past Poseidon Point, the mountain region where that mighty Grimm had been at. Slowly, he finished the bottle, putting it into a pile inside a bin in the wagon.

He felt alone again. The teen didn't know what was wrong with him, one minute he felt okay, the next he felt severely depressed. Thinking about Kurama, and everyone else didn't help him in the slightest. Instead, sitting in the wagon, he tried to drink the feeling away. Sometimes he woke up in a cold sweat, one night he had a nightmare where he was trapped in The Mugen Tsukuyomi.

Then came the dream of where he took Kaguya's place. It was startling, to see people he knew cowering before him. All the while his hand summoned storms, his eyes cast a cerulean glow, and people called him The Kitsune Kishin.

It had been one of his darkest dreams. Something that the teen didn't have often, but it meant one thing, the darkness inside of him was back. Sighing, the blue-eyed hero just huddled in the wagon. The air outside was getting colder, slowly but surely. Rain pelted the wagon's covers, with the blonde watching as a tiny slit in the fabric tripped water into a nearby pan.

Grabbing the pan, the blonde tilted it back and drank the water that flowed from it. He felt buzzed, but he also felt empty. This wasn't something that someone could understand, being lost in an unknown world, uncertain to what anything has planned for you.

It felt very sinuous, with no pathway leading to the same place.

Getting himself adjusted the blonde merely stared out into the darkness of the rain. A storm was brewing above, his Sage Mode's senses allowed him to sense it. He found that Vale's forests were abundant in natural energy. So much so that he could enter Sage Mode without a problem, this place also felt a lot like The Land of Fire back on his world. The natural energy was pristine, but he could feel them.

They were black spots in his senses, they hung around miles and miles. There was a very large black spot underground somewhere, it wasn't moving there, just lying dormant. He felt of it, taking a deep breath, it was very big.

Easily over hundreds of meters. He hoped that he didn't have to fight it, not anytime soon at least. It was troubling as well, he didn't feel anything like that in Vacuo. Then again, in Vacuo, he could have trouble gathering Nature Chakra.

The teen closed his eyes, memories of the night two days ago flooded them. Vernal didn't seem so bad, and perhaps he was gaining a reputation? He doubted it, it wasn't unnatural for someone to have a sexual partner from he understood.

There was a sense of freedom to it all. Not having to watch out for other Shinobi, not having to worry about Akatsuki coming to literally rip your soul apart, not worrying about Rabbit Goddesses or destiny. In irony, perhaps mockingly, this is _exactly_ what he wanted as a child beside being Hokage.

 _Freedom._

This was a dream turned into a nightmare. He had no friends, even if it seemed like it. No one really got to know him, it seemed like no one really bothered to know him. Rosa saw him as a prospect for an F.W.B, and he succeeded and surpassed what she expected.

To say Naruto hated that term would be an understatement, but like with all living things, he had needs. Wasn't wrong to fulfill them either, sometimes a person needed to scratch an itch. It wasn't like he was forcing them to do what he wanted or going around promising them anything. There was no harem of girls that would please him in any fashion he wanted, and to be honest about it all he found the prospect of a harem very troublesome.

Hearing the water trip into the pan, the blonde just winced. It gave him a headache to hear it, holding his head, the teen's eyes opened to see the storm raging outside. Sighing, he suddenly retched and crawled to the entrance of the wagon. Throwing up, Naruto looked at the muddy ground below, watching as rain pelted the puddles.

Wiping his lips with his forearm, the teen got his parka, putting it on. Stepping out of the wagon, the blonde walks toward the back of the caravan. There he saw the Huntsmen, all of them walking with their own parkas on.

"Hey guys, go ahead and get in a wagon," Naruto told them as he pointed toward the caravan with his thumb.

The Huntsmen looked at one another, nodding, they moved past Naruto to enter one of the caravan's wagons to rest for a little bit. Taking a deep breath, Naruto watched as lightning flashed across the sky. It reminded him of Sasuke's Jutsu, taking a deep breath Naruto began to vibrate his chakra in his right hand's index finger.

There was a spark, followed by a crackle, he looked down at it. Ever since entering Six Path's Sage Mode for the first time he gained an understanding of how chakra worked. How to form other elements and such. It was all basic to him now, he just preferred other elements over others.

Looking at the storm above him, Naruto could've sworn he saw something flying in the clouds. Taking a deep breath, the blonde watched the caravan closely as he formed several Kage Bunshin around the area. Some of them formed a couple more clones that went about clearing the way forward, others just simply kept to scouting.

Stopping for a moment, Naruto feels the rain slowly come to a stop. The clouds broke away, revealing the broken move above. He could feel something watching him, _someone_ watching him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before going back on his walk with the caravan.

* * *

Vale City was on the horizon. Naruto stood on top of the hill, he had separated from the caravan that went toward a small town near the big city. The blonde looked ahead, taking moment to do some Tai Chi in order to calm his nerves. He had tried to go a couple of nights without drinking but found his right hand was trembling again.

When he stumbled on a step the teen just growled. Repeating the motions over and over, going through the works. He just growls, all the while, he looked over at his pack. Giving up on doing Tai Chi after his hand kept throwing him off, Naruto walked over to the pack and unfurled a scroll. He unsealed a bottle of alcohol he had gotten back in Vacuo City.

Sitting on the ground, Naruto tilted the bottle back and began to chug its contents down. Almost immediately the liquor's effects began to take away the trembling. Why he didn't know, and it wasn't something he was going to question.

Ever since he left the hospital in Vacuo, and began to casually drink, his trembling would come and go. Slamming the bottle back, finishing off the contents, Naruto just stood there. It seemed like a haze, the trembling in his hand stopped as his eyes dulled over slightly.

He quickly took the stock off the stuff he had in his pack before picking it up. Struggling to walk forward, Naruto elected to just stumble along the path. Swaying back and forth, his cheeks flustered from the alcohol. The teen simply kept his hazy vision focused on the road ahead.

Feeling something come over him. The blonde began to slow his stumble before suddenly falling forward. The blonde's eyes were dulled completely over, no visible sign of a pupil as he laid there. He just stared at the road and felt completely empty of willpower.

 _'_ _What,'_ Naruto looked at the road ahead. _'What am I even doing here? It'll never be the same, "live" live for what? I can never be Hokage, I can never go back, I'm…just…'_

Naruto had tears spill out of his eyes as the feeling just increased dramatically, _'A nobody…again.'_

 _'_ _Do this Naruto, help us Naruto…I'm so…tired…'_ Naruto thought out as he laid there, drunk.

"Screw…this…the world," Naruto mumbled as his right hand trembled.

Slowly, but surely, his eyes turned. His sclera turned black, his blue eyes turned crimson. He felt something flood within him, it felt like…Darkness.

What was this feeling?!

Naruto curled himself into a ball, he just laid there, looking out into the forest. He could hear moaning, the moaning got louder and louder. Until, slowly, several figures shuffled out of the woods toward the road. The figures were Grimm, humanoid looking Grimm, skeletal in appearance.

They spotted the blonde before slowly advancing on him. Naruto just laid there, feeling the emotion wash over him. It felt hollow, it felt like anything he ever did was useless. It made him empty, it made him sob as he thought of everyone back on his world.

Worst of all…he felt **_ANGRY!_**

Naruto could hear the moaning of the creatures as they approach. He growled as his eyes began to glow brightly, he began to grip the ground as slowly but surely, he dragged himself up. This feeling washed over him, it consumed him as he grabbed onto the bottle and then turned on his heel.

The bottle sailed forth from his hand, slamming into the nearest skeletal figure. The blonde's round pupil betrayed the abnormality of his eyes now. With red irises shining through the dark sclera like a blood moon in a night sky. Naruto found himself gripping his face, the feeling wasn't anything like Kurama.

It felt like himself, but it wasn't himself.

The blonde watched as the nearest figure reached out toward him. Naruto then suddenly lashes out. His punch smashed through the creature's face, knocking its head off as it sent the body flying toward a tree. Just before impact, like all Grimm, that body dispersed into black dust. The Grimm stopped, watching as dark blue chakra poured from Naruto.

He raised his head up, exposing a corrupted Sage Mode. His eyes were golden like normal, they were clouded over by the haze of darkness in the sclera. The creatures backed up as Naruto shuffled toward them with his arms dangling, the blonde's expression was one of pure rage and **_hatred_** as he snapped forward.

The creatures couldn't react as Naruto grabbed the nearest one before ripping its head off. He turns around and then smashed a kick into the next one. The kick was strong enough to send a shockwave that knocked the others back while destroying the one impacted.

Naruto turned around before using a Sage Mode enhanced Rasengan to tear through a couple of the creatures. Landing in the middle of them, he felt the rage take over him. Grabbing the nearest one by the arms the blonde twirled it above him before smacking it into the others like a bat. He proceeded to smash the bastard into the ground several times, throwing it into the air.

Just in time for Naruto to throw a regular wind chakra Rasengan up, blasting it to pieces. The boom was loud, very powerful as well. The shockwave made the creatures stumble back, Naruto laughed as he held his face. He looked manic as his golden eyes scanned over the creatures around him.

He saw the first one move toward him, it caused him to scream out.

"Fight me, kill me, do something!" Naruto screamed with all his heart as he rushed the Grimm.

He took to punching it, enhancing the punch with wind chakra. The fist of Naruto cleaved right through the Grimm, but he didn't stop as he kept running around the area. Slicing with his hands, destroying Grimm left and right. The teen roared out in rage as he grabbed the face-off before ripping its jaw off. Forming a small Rasengan, he shoved it down into the beast's mouth before kicking it toward a small group.

The beast swelled up before exploding!

The angrier he became Naruto realized, the more powerful he felt. He glared right at the last few of Grimm, he then looked at his hands through his Sage Mode enhanced eyes. He saw where his chakra was pouring off him and into the beasts in front of him.

He shook in rage as he glared at them, the beasts attempted to scream out. Intent to drain anything he left in him willpower wise. The blonde merely took the scream before roaring out his own. He watched as his chakra came slamming back into him, turning his eyes back to normal before he advanced forward toward them.

"Neat trick," Naruto slurred as he filled with drunken rage. "Here's mine…"

He picked up a stone off the ground before marking it with his Hiraishin seal. He threw the stone, standing there until it was in the middle of the group. A sudden orange flash in the center of them and Naruto appeared in between them all. He spun on his heel, slashing with wind chakra in his hand. The beasts all were bisected by the raw power of the attack.

Naruto watches as black dust forms around him. The blonde grabbed the stone before crushing it. The alcohol quickly burned through his system, he glared at the woods before taking a deep breath. He felt like something was watching him, but they didn't dare make another move against him.

Falling to his knees he suddenly began to retch as he threw up on the ground. His Sage Mode ended right there as he held his stomach, throwing up the contents of anything he ate prior. He shook as he felt his right hand start to tremble again, he shrugged it off as he forced himself to stand up.

"Fucking great," Naruto grumbled as he looked right at the forest. "If your plan was to make me come down from being drunk, congratulations, you won!"

He flicked the forest off before stumbling forward, holding his pack's strap for comfort on his right hand. He didn't even bother noticing that it was bleeding heavily from where he grabbed the inner jaw of the Grimm and tore it off.

Blood dripped onto the ground, leaving a small trail. He became woozy as he felt numb, everything around him felt numb. His ears ringed before he found himself stumbling and nearly retching again. Something about what they did when they took his chakra was just afflicting Naruto. It felt like they were not only taking his chakra but e _verything_ else spiritually.

It shook him down to his very core. Stopping, he finally addressed the bleeding on his hand. Looking at it, the warm liquid dripped down, forming little splotches across the ground. Growling Naruto just weaved a few hand seals before placing his left hand over the wound. Hissing as the wound burned, steam rolling off it.

Naruto took the time to just sigh, trying to clear his head of what just occurred. He felt something dark inside of him, it wasn't anything like he felt before. At least, not like he could remember. The teen finished healing his hand before looking at it.

It was fully healed.

* * *

Vale City was massive, Naruto struggled to comprehend the tall structures all around him. The number of vehicles and other machines moving about. The teen looked at them all, walking along the streets, carrying a pack. Some citizens avoided him, others just bumped against him.

The teen was just awestruck, he had never seen anything like this. Taking time walk toward a hotel, Naruto entered the building. There was a fountain in the center of it, from what he could tell it was seriously high-classed. The teen was about to walk up toward the receptionist desk before getting stopped by a few security guards.

"Sorry sir," the guard stopped Naruto. "There is no vacancy."

"Vaca-what now?" Naruto questioned them, rubbing the back of his head.

One of the guards rolls his eyes, "it means there are no rooms available."

"Oh, well crap, thanks." Naruto walked out of the hotel before watching a couple walk in.

He got curious and then watched as the security guards didn't stop them. Instead, the couple got to the receptionist and _booked a room_. Naruto growled, reentering the building as he opened the door. The teen looked at the officers in there.

"Hey what's the big idea," Naruto called them out. "I come in here to pay for a room, and I get told no, only for someone else to come in and get one?!"

"Sir," one of the security guards got toward Naruto. "I'm sorry, but we do not know what you're talking about."

The teen recoils a little bit, "Are you seriously calling me blind?"

"Are you?" The man questioned.

Naruto just growls and walks away, "Kiss my ass."

"Hey, animal!" The security guard yelled out, "Don't you ever tell your betters that."

The teen struggled to make it out the door, instead, he just stood there. Taking a few deep breaths, he just walked away. He needed to control his anger here, he couldn't lash out. He didn't really want to draw any unwanted attention from potential criminals, and such.

"Hey," Naruto turns toward a voice, "Kinsmen."

The blonde found the voice belonging to a girl with deer antlers in an alleyway. The teen sighed, walking toward her, he decided to just get away from the crowd. The girl smiled as she looked at him, she had her scroll out, a communications device, and looked at his picture on it.

The girl introduces herself, "I'm Cervina, you wouldn't happen to be Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

"If I am," Naruto answered her, "What of it?"

"I'm pretty sure you are, forgive this sudden introduction. The White Fang seek you, and I bring an invitation from them. Lady Sienna Khan herself will be in Vale a few days from now, she asks that you meet her at this location." Cervina handed Naruto a piece of paper as she spoke to him, "It is very rare Lady Khan leaves the homeland…consider it a high honor."

Naruto looked at the paper, _'What's there to lose?'_

The blonde took a deep breath, watching as Cervina made her way into the shadows. He was still able to easily sense her, despite the fact she had gone invisible. That was possibly her semblance or some technology, Naruto couldn't really tell which in this world sometimes.

Taking a step out of the alleyway, Naruto felt something was amiss about the entire situation. How the White Fang knew of him was obvious, it was because of Vacuo City! How they found him, on the other hand, was the entirely different story, perhaps they were seeking his strength. He wasn't going to hide the fact that he was human, no need to lie to an organization that could seize power if they really wanted to.

Then again if it was his power they were after, would that make them no better than The Akatsuki of his world?

Pondering these things Naruto simply walked away, into the crowds of the city. Watching as police took down a junkie who tried fleeing from them. The blonde took a deep breath, walking about the area until he came toward a bar.

His right hand started to tremble.

* * *

The blonde was in the bar, laughing up a storm as he slammed a shot back. A man there, Junior, was happily suffering the teen alcohol as the blonde got into a competition. It was with a man with a similar drinking habit, someone named Qrow.

The two slammed their shot glasses back. Leaving the bartender and owner of the club to watch the teen tap the table. Qrow also tap the table, the red-eyed man was pickled beyond belief, so was Naruto. They didn't know how they got social, they just said a word to each other and ordered the same alcohol.

That's when it all just fell into place. Naruto slammed the shot down as soon as it got to him. He hiccups, giggling all the way as he felt a warmth inside of him. Qrow does the same, looking at the blonde while laughing.

"You're damn mercenary? Little fucking young aren't ya," Qrow laughed his question out as he slammed another shot back. "But damn it you hold your liquor."

"I have another funny story to tell, anyway there was this Grimm in the Border Mountains. The Locals called it Poseidon, everyone thought I was dead meat when I went confront," Naruto blabbered as he leaned back. "Imagine the look on their face when I came back with a damn trophy off the damn thing!"

Qrow whistles, "damn kid, I heard about that big bastard. If what you're saying is true, then why the hell aren't you Huntsmen?"

"Never thought about becoming one," Naruto admitted as he leaned against the table. "Too much money in taking out Grimm at my own leisure."

The man laughs, "Man, it was a luxury back in the day. Nowadays I babysit brats at a school, but it's not all bad…"

Qrow got out his scroll, showing Naruto a picture of two girls on it. The one with silver eyes was making bunny ears behind the girl with blonde hair and lilac eyes. They looked rather cute, enough to make Naruto blush a little bit, but nothing he was interested in.

"That there be my pride and joys, especially the little red-cloaked girl. Oh man, how time flies, one minute me and their father are teaching them to fight and the next, BAM! Beacon academy there they are, and I tell you what…man, I tell you what…never been so proud in my life…" Qrow mumbled out drunkenly, "got a family kid?"

Naruto thought about it, and then sighed, "no…I…well…"

"Ah fuck," Qrow sighed as he patted the teen's shoulder. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to kill the good times. Junior, hey Junior, 'nother round!"

Junior walked over, "I'm cutting you both off after this round boys."

"Oh man," Qrow complained. "Oh well, even the most flooded of lakes dry up sometimes."

"Hear-hear," Naruto cheered as they both took a shot together. "Oh man, this feels great…takes the bad times right out of me."

* * *

The blonde woke up the next morning with a screaming headache. His eyes stung when they hit the bright light. Slowly, he raised up, looking up at the bed. He noted that nothing seemed moved around, he remembered last night. Suddenly a sense of dread came over him, he looked at the trashcan. He breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed like he didn't have any "fun" last night. Especially with a guy, that would've been very awkward the next morning.

However, looking over to the side he saw another bed in the room. He was perplexed until Qrow walked out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. He had his shirt off, exposing his scars. The blonde looked at the man, who just laughed.

"Morning sunshine," Qrow tossed Naruto some sort of medicine. "It helps with hangovers, better to dry swallow as well."

Naruto popped a couple of the pills, slamming his head back as he swallowed. They tasted bitter, he got out bed, discovering that he was shirtless. He had a few scratch marks on his chest and shoulders. He took a deep breath as he began applying his healing Jutsu on them.

Qrow looked at the teen, "You're probably wondering where you got those from."

"Please tell me we didn't…" Naruto smacked his face as he grimaced.

Qrow laughs while holding his face, "Oh no, we didn't. I'm straighter than an arrow, you got them when you fell down the staircase."

"Wait, what staircase?" Naruto questioned as he got up and looked out of the window.

They were in a high-rise apartment complex, "where…am I?"

"You're in my apartment," Qrow answered him as he put a shirt on. "You got super wasted last night and decided to do a favor for ya."

Naruto nods, "thank you…I really mean that."

"No problem, hey since you're a mercenary, perhaps you wouldn't being hired on to do security?" Qrow inquired as he got his coat on, getting a ring on.

The blonde looked at the man, "What kind of security? I won't do anything that requires me to hurt innocent people."

"What, no, I wouldn't do that either. I'm asking if you want to get a job, you know, something steady so that way you're not just going around everywhere." Qrow pointed out as he looked at the teen.

Naruto blinks, "how much did I tell you last night?"

"A shit ton," Qrow honestly answered, "I just want to throw that out there. I mean, take it from me, with Vytal coming up there's always people hiring for security."

"Oh, isn't that the big festival thing?" Naruto inquired as he rubbed his temple.

"Well, duh, whatever festival thing would it be?" Qrow chortled as he threw his toothbrush into the bathroom. "Crap, it landed in the toilet…"

He walked into the bathroom to retrieve the toothbrush and promptly throw it away. No way in hell was he going to use a toothbrush after it landed in the throne. He walked back out toward Naruto, was getting a shirt out of his pack. Not noticing him pulling it out of half unfurled scroll.

"So," Naruto put his shirt on. "What makes me trustworthy?"

"Your real self is always shown when you're drunk," Qrow pointed out as he started getting ready. "Take it as an offer."

Naruto thought about it and took a deep breath as he thought about The White Fang. "I'll have to think about it."

"Fair enough kid," Qrow opened his apartment door. "Now c'mon, I need to get work and I am not keen on trusting strangers in my apartment."

"Yet," Naruto points out as he walked out of the apartment, "you'll get blackout drunk with one."

"I didn't black out, but you sure as hell did. It was kind of funny actually, you kept moaning a name…" Qrow then chuckles really loud, "it really likes a good dream."

Naruto just scoffs a little, "oh was it Vernal or Rosa?"

"No," Qrow giggled as he locked his door. "Some broad named Hinata."

Naruto stood there in the hallway, watching as Qrow walked past him. Almost immediately it slammed into him again, that feeling of loneliness. He just lowered his head and took a deep breath. The blonde teen walked with Qrow until both had to go their separate ways.

Once again…Naruto felt alone.


	8. Season One Episode Eight: Shadows

_(I have a poll in my profile. It is asking which story I should focus on finishing first._

 _Shinobi (Naruto X Ruby)  
Primrose (This story, Naruto x Blake.)  
Screaming Sun (Naruto X Yang.)  
Sunflower (Redo of Silent of Moon.)_

 _Thank you for the input via the votes, poll closes July 4_ _th_ _.)_

* * *

Naruto stood in front of a mirror, taking deep breaths. Slowly, but surely, he put his gear on. He kept his headband in his pocket, a good luck charm. A trashcan behind him had a couple of beer bottles in it, and as he finished getting ready, he just stood there. Thoughts of Hinata and his friends popped into his mind.

He felt filthy, disgusted with himself. The blonde Shinobi didn't have the ability to control his drinking anymore. It was an urge, it felt right, and it made him feel good to forget about everything for just a little bit. To have arms wrapped around him at night, just for a little bit. That's what the alcohol was for, to help him forget, while the lovers he took to bed drunkenly were to make him feel _human_ again.

None of those things were him, he wasn't a drinker, he wasn't a Casanova. He just wanted to feel again, to feel wanted, and not alone. Uzumaki Naruto stared at himself in the mirror, placing his palm against it. Retching into the sink after a moment, last night's alcohol flowed down the sink drain. Wiping his lips off, the blonde just took a deep breath.

Rubbing his hair, the blonde just stared at his self before sighing, "It doesn't matter anymore."

Walking into his motel room, the smell burning his nose, the blonde paced about. It had been a couple of days since talking to Qrow, the young man thought over his options. They were plentiful, more than he could count his fingers and toes. The realistic ones, however, were very few.

He could continue drinking himself numb and just wither away as he had been. The alcohol certainly made him forget about the lost prestige he worked so hard for, along with the loss of his friends and the only person to ever fully believe in him since they were children.

The other option would just keep doing mercenary work, and just look for a fight to make himself feel alive again. Grimm weren't bad opponents, just predictable, and the blonde was anxious to fight someone of equal caliber again. There was a doubt in his mind, this world probably couldn't handle who he was anyhow.

The final option, the hardest one, to swallow the pain and move on.

Sitting on the bed, Naruto laid back, staring up the ceiling. Nearly an entire year has passed he came to this world, and ever since then, he'd lost himself. The bright, cheerful, and energetic blonde devolved in a drunkard. Drinking was fun, but it was the wrong kind of fun, he had no business bedding those women either.

They seduced him, yes, but he still should've just said no. His base needs, the needs everyone had, shouted over reason. Frowning, Naruto just huffed before getting up. Walking toward the door, the blonde opened it, hearing the bustling of the city of Vale.

Getting his scroll out, Naruto looked at it, noticing that Qrow had put his contact number it. Pressing the number, the scroll began to have a dial tone. After a few seconds, the chuckle of an older man came over the scroll.

 _"So, interested in that offer?"_ Qrow asked him, knowing why he called.

Sucking his teeth, Naruto replied, "Yeah."

 _"Awesome I'll send you a text of where to meet me tomorrow,"_ Qrow responded and then the blonde heard some fighting in the background. _"I'm going to have to call you back, got some gangsters to take care…Crow Daddy out."_

The line hanged up, Naruto stood there bewildered, "Crow Daddy? That's…that's just terrible…"

Finding himself chuckling, the blonde walked down the flight of outside stairs. The rented room's time was up tomorrow, and he'd at least make the best of the situation at hand. Grabbing his wallet, one he had bought back in Vacuo, the blonde saw some money left over from the caravan job. It wasn't enough to go out and splurge, but probably get something to eat.

* * *

Hopping down the last flight of stairs, the Shinobi merged into the crowd. Following them through the streets, looking around the many neon signs and lights. He saw a little girl, near an alleyway, with clothes that were old and baggy. He frowned, even in this grandiose place, little people are often forgotten.

Struggling with himself, Naruto stopped, turning on his heel. Walking toward the little girl he began to see that she wasn't human, but a Faunus. The girl had wolf-like ears on top of her head, a mop of dirty black hair betrayed her bright green eyes.

Getting down on his knee, the blonde looked at her, "Hey."

"H-he-hello…" The girl mumbled in her stutter, "S-sorry I looked at you."

"Don't be, um, are you…hungry?" Naruto asked, noting that no one else seemed to be in the alley.

The girl sniffled, "Yes…I…haven't eaten since…um…when did it rain last?"

The Shinobi felt his fist ball up, "It rained three days ago…"

"O-oh, um, that's a long time, isn't it. I shouldn't ask, I'm sorry sir…" The little Faunus replied.

The blonde took a moment, seeing himself in the little girl's shoes. Though, unlike her, he had a roof over his head. Reaching out, he offers his hand to her, with a bright smile. Tentatively, she reaches out to him as well, placing her small, soft, palm into his callous laced hand.

"I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, I'm gonna get a bite to eat. C'mon, it's a little chilly out tonight anyway." Naruto told her, introducing himself fully.

The girl whimpered a little bit, she was taken aback by the kindness. Gripping his hand, the girl felt the warmth radiate off it. Especially over a small glowing mark on his right palm that she could see under a glove.

"I'm Emilia, Emilia Blackwood," The girl told him, smiling a little bit.

She got up, only to stumble a little bit. Naruto sighed, picking her up and placing her on his shoulders. The blonde ignored the sideways looks he received from some people, the girl honestly smelled, but that came with living on the street. The girl grumbled a little bit, her wolf ears laying backward at comments she could hear from people.

Naruto growled as he heard the comments.

 _"Fucking freaks."  
"Look at this, animals helping animals."  
"That child smells horrible, hope he knows he's getting lice."  
"I wouldn't go near that little girl, too smelly, gah!" _

Finally snapping, Naruto yelled as he turned toward the crowd, "Why don't you all shut the hell up!"

"You make fun of a little girl who's hungry on the streets, and then you have the nerve to eye her like a plague. You are terrible people, and I hope your lives are as miserable as they are needed to be to put down a little girl, assholes!" The Shinobi unleashed his wrath, glaring at the particular people that were making the comments.

The blonde continued to rant, "You wonder why Faunus like her stand up to assholes like you. You should be ashamed, and to think some of you might have children disturbs the crap out of me. Children are innocent, who are you to judge one on the streets?!"

No one answers him, the blonde looked at them all, breathing. Some of them looked ashamed, turning their head away. It made his blood boil.

"Strong opinions coming from weak-willed people, you all should be so ashamed to call yourself a man or woman. You have no morals, putting down others just elevate your happiness will only cause the same scenario to turn upon you eventually. You may stand there, looking shocked and ashamed, but you better believe it when I tell you that I think you owe this girl an apology at the very least!" The blonde raved as he pointed at the people, and then started walking away.

Taking the next sidewalk, the blonde and the little got away from the gathered crowd, unaware of the people holding scrolls out recording.

* * *

Naruto used the last bit of his money to get the girl a large meal at a Tea House called _The Opal Dragon._ They had stopped in after the blonde had looked up a ValeNet coupon for it. The girl was stuffing her face as he sipped his water, she looked like she had just gone to heaven. Emilia hummed as she bit down onto a fishcake, quickly gobbling it up.

The girl stopped for a minute, looking at him, "Aren't you going to eat too, mister?"

"Just call me Naruto," Naruto smiled as he looked at his wallet, truly seeing that it was empty for the first time in a very long time.

The blonde sighed, "And, honestly tea house food isn't my cup of tea, eh-Eh?!"

The girl deadpanned, looking at him, "That's horrible."

"Yeah, give me a break kid, I suck at puns," Naruto grumbled in reply, leaning back in their booth, watching as cars go by.

Emilia swallowed the glass of water in her hands, "I've haven't had so much good before…the matrons…they never gave us anything really."

"Matrons?" Naruto looked down her, failing to notice her already digging back into the food.

She stopped, looking at him before burping loudly. The Shinobi chuckled, finishing his glass of water. Emilia looked at the last fishcake on her plate, sliding it over to him. The girl smiled brightly, Naruto hesitated at first before picking it up and taking a bite of it. It was full of flavor, the blonde quickly finished it off with another quick bite.

With his mouth full, the blonde inquired on something, "Youm saim mothing bout matroms?"

"Y-yeah, I was living in a house, and well…they didn't really like me too much. I don't know why they just treated me different…" The girl whimpered, sniffling a little bit.

The blonde took a deep breath, "That's horrible, but I understand…trust me I do. It gets better, Dattebayo."

"I don't know," Emilia lowered her head, "Mama and Papa never came back from their mission…"

This hit dead center for the blonde, he took a deep breath to avoid shedding a tear. Her story, minus ancient powerful demons getting sealed into her, was almost a carbon copy of his. In fact, Naruto looked at it more realistically as being _worse_ than he ever was.

"I grew up an orphan as well," He told her, noting the shock on her face. "My mother and father, they…passed away when I born."

"O-oh, wh-what happened?" Emilia asked, simple as it was, it opened some old wounds.

He gave a sad smile, replying with a heavy voice dry of emotion. "Bad people happened, but those bad people were misled by really bad people…and that's just the end of it. The only reason I know of my parents is because of my friend, Kurama."

He wanted to punch himself for mentioning Kurama's name. Sighing, he gauged her reaction, watching as she stared at him, a mix of emotions on her face. She was scared that he was trying to trick, but curious, and wanted to trust him. These feeling, and emotions, flowed over her at the same time. A confusion

"What happened to Kurama?" She asked, it was innocent enough, but it still made Naruto winced.

The blonde sighed, looking at his empty glass of water, watching as the ice melted.

"I don't know," Naruto closed his eyes, "I just hope he's okay…"

"S-sorry," she apologized, lowering her head.

"Don't be, you did nothing wrong. Besides, it is just me being dramatic, I'm sure he's fine." Naruto commented, looking out of the window, noticing something.

He got up, Emalia followed behind him, they had already paid for their food so there was no disturbance for them walking out of the door. There was a silver-haired man walking down the street. That wasn't what Naruto noticed, it was the shadows following him on top of the rooftops. He looked at the man, taking a deep breath, and quickly formed a clone. Emilia looked surprised, the burst of smoke created some attention as well, but Naruto quickly explained it.

"Don't worry, Emilia, this is my semblance. I have the ability to clone myself, he'll stay with you, don't get scared if he suddenly pops." Naruto knelt, explaining his clone "semblance" to Emilia, "Alright?"

"Y-yes," Emilia nodded, looking up at the clone, "H-Hi!"

"Sup," the clone greeted Emilia, a small smirk on his face.

"Alright then, I'll be right back!" Naruto told her, quickly dodging his way through the crowd.

Emilia lost him shortly after, she sighed, looking at his clone.

* * *

Getting near the man, Naruto watched the shadows, counting under his breath. Time seemed to slow down when one hopped from a rooftop and into the shadows of structures on top of the roof. The broken moonlight offering very little light for him to work with.

 _"One…"_

His eyes focused on a second shadow following closely behind the other. The shadow had something on its back, like a tube of sorts. As the shadow hopped over an alleyway, he got a clearer look at the tube. It was quiver, and he could tell the arrows were heavy due to their lack of movement.

 _"Two…"_

Something was off, just two? Naruto scanned the crowd, looking at anyone that would've been staying with them. Getting nearer to the man, the blue eyes of the young Shinobi focused on a third shadow crawling up a wall. The shadow didn't move when a beam of light from a car hit it, and only moved afterward.

 _"Three…"_

Getting beside the man, Naruto suddenly realized something, those three were following with them. A fourth one was nearby, they had to be. It made no sense, obviously, the one with arrows was meant to lead the man he was walking by. Making sure that he would go where they needed him too. The other two were also meant to push, the one hanging out in front was to block any escape route, and the other one hiding in the shadows in alleyways could easily lash out with a surprise attack.

That was the thing, if they had him blocked, had him locked down, and had him ready to be pushed into someone. The one remaining question, the missing fourth person, was the one who'd be forcing the man to retreat. The group's fighter, the fourth member, and they weren't with the others. He could be wrong, but instinct told him otherwise, and it hadn't failed him before.

The blonde "accidentally" bumped into the man, "Sorry sir didn't mean to run into you."

"Oh, it's fine young man, lost in the moonlight? I saw you staring up at the buildings, are you alright?" The silver-haired man inquired.

Naruto nodded, replying with a small smile, "I'm fine. Sir, what's your name?"

"My name is Ozpin," Ozpin introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Ozpin," Naruto took his hand, secretly applying a seal to his palm. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Nice name, where are you heading tonight?" The older man inquired.

"I'm heading for a _snare_ called The Crow. I would really watch how many _shots_ I take and keep my wits about me." Naruto tried his best to hint at the man, using his jacket to hide his gripping a kunai.

The man hummed, "Interesting choice of words, you wouldn't mind _walking_ with me, would you?"

"Not at all," the blonde replied as they rounded a corner and began to head toward the docks.

* * *

Both stopped at a large open area, Naruto took a deep breath. The silver-haired man put his cane on the ground, supporting himself with it. The two looked at the rooftops of the warehouses and the decks of docked ships. The man knew about the shadows, which relieved Naruto, but it still troubled him that someone was following this man.

Testing their nerve, Naruto looked at the older man, "That's a nice cane there."

"Thank you," Ozpin thanked the blonde, smiling as he whistled a merry tune. "Do you think they know?"

"I'm pretty sure of it," the blonde replied, readying his kunai mechanism under his sleeve.

The duo watched the shadows on the roof of the warehouses, nothing moved. Taking a deep breath, Naruto focused on the rooftops, closing his eyes and began to sense for any chakra. Though people here didn't have any usable amounts, they still naturally had a little bit of chakra. What he found, however, disturbed him. he sensed one source, but instead of being small, the chakra was intense and dark.

Something told him to grab the man, and when he did, Naruto slammed him onto the ground along with himself. Just above them a figure dressed in shadows nearly took both their heads, bug-like wings on its back flapped to maintain its flight. These weren't normal people, and doubting they were Faunus, Naruto pulled the man up from the ground.

The figure turned around, pointing its seven-branched blade Ozpin, "Ozpin!"

"Yes?" Ozpin watched as the man calmly adjusted his coat.

"Our Goddess sends her regards," The figure dressed in shadow stated as he readied himself to fight, his mask tight across his face. "Prepare thyself for death!"

The being was about to charge at Ozpin, only to stop himself as the blonde walked in front of the older man. It looked at the young man in front of him, confused, watching he looked at him. His insect wings flapping behind him, the being scoffed, pointing his blade toward Naruto.

They locked eyes, with Naruto fists balling up, "Who gave you that power?"

"What's it to you, peasant?" The being demanded.

Naruto growled, his eyes growing cold, "You tell me right now, what happened to Chomei?"

"The beast has a name?" The figure asked, laughing as if the blonde was telling a joke.

"He has a fucking name, and you better tell where he is, asshole, or I'll rip those goddamn wings off and shove them up your ass!" Naruto raged, readying himself.

Scoffing, the wind began to swirl around the blade, "Come try me, child!"

"Young man, I'm not one to interject in a fight, but I think you should leave this one to me," Ozpin stated, quickly forming a barrier around them as arrows made of a black metal slammed against it.

"The hell I will," the Shinobi growled and watched as the being pushed his sword up into the air. "I want an answer, now!"

"Here is your answer, Fox Child!" The being roared and slammed his sword down.

The wind blasted from it, cutting into the stone of the dock. Naruto roared in rage, weaving a couple of hand seals before launching a blast of wind from his mouth. This act stunned Ozpin, who looked at Naruto in confusion, the being growled as he flew straight at Naruto.

When he got near the blonde, he thrusts his sword. Naruto sidestepped, causing his kunai mechanism to activate and launch a kunai into his off hand. Turning on his heel, applying wind chakra to it, Naruto barely missed the wings of the being as he rolled out of the way.

Slashing at Naruto, the being smirked as the blonde barely dodged. The blonde, however, countered with a thrust of his right fist which sent out a shockwave of wind. Roaring out in surprise, the being flew up, dodging the shockwave and landed on a rooftop by another shadowy figure.

"Beetle," the archer identified the one holding the sword, "This child has mastery of the winds…"

"I can see that, Mantis. Our Goddess's pet has been naughty if it snuck away some of its power into some lowly child, damn that foul Rhino Beetle monstrosity!" Beetle angrily seethed, glaring at the boy with red eyes through his mask.

Naruto scowled his eyes filled with rage at them insulting The Seven-Tailed Beast. He charged, stopping once he saw black silk starting to appear on the ground, grunting he suddenly disappeared in a yellow flash. Ozpin flinched when Naruto appeared just in front of him again, watching the blonde ready himself.

"No civilians are inside of this operation zone, Beetle. Ozpin and this False Bearer shall soon die." The woman spoke from the shadows of an alleyway near one of the warehouses, emerging to reveal a skintight black suit around her body.

Mantis chuckled, "Nice for you to join us, Widow."

Widow sneered and held two sickles in her hand as she charged straight Naruto. The blonde engaged her, quickly dodging the first slashes while countering with his own. He was surprised at her speed, she was able to keep up with him, and it wasn't long that he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

"Old man, look out!" Naruto screamed, barely blocking the sickles with kunai.

Ozpin hummed, turning his head to see a lanky figure with a large sword in his hands. A shrill laugh came from the figure, his sword plummeting toward Ozpin's head, the man simply raised his cane up and blocked it. A loud sound of metal clashing against metal sounded throughout the docks. The figure moved to try against, but Ozpin merely took a step forward and blasted him away with aura by slamming his free palm into the man's sternum.

Naruto broke away from Widow by leaning back and dodging her sickles. As he leaned back, the blades barely flew over his head as he turned around fully and delivered a powerful kick into her side, sending her across the dock and crashing into a warehouse. Backflipping once to avoid arrows that slammed into the ground where he had been, the blonde blocked Beetle as he flew by.

 _'There's nowhere I can draw Natural Energy from,'_ he observed as he dodged another arrow by leaning his head out of the way. _'I don't have time make the hand seal for clones and can't exactly flood the area.'_

Blocking with his kunai, a flash of sparks scattered around the ground as Naruto jumped up and delivered a slash across the person's mask. The wood easily splintering from the wind chakra, but it wasn't deep enough to be fatal, as the mask fail of the man's face blood spurted out from a deep cut across his nose and chin. Flying back, Beetle grabbed his face, roaring in pain.

Not wasting his advantage, Naruto leaped up, but as he was about to land a finishing blow against the man threads of black wrapped around him. He looked at the source, Widow was laughing loudly from the shadows, and Mantis took aim. Ozpin moved, was able to slash the threads of Naruto with his cane coated in the aura and placed a barrier around them in time to block the arrows as they were fired.

Breaking out of the remaining threads, Naruto growled and looked at Widow. He noted that the other figure Ozpin had handled with finesse wasn't moving, and he turned to the older man.

"Is he dead?" The blonde inquired, standing back to back with the man.

Ozpin nodded, watching as the man began to turn into black dust, "Yes."

"You're a good fighter for an old man," Naruto complimented Ozpin before observing Beetle charge at Ozpin at his flank.

The man's sword crashed against the barrier, cracking it slightly, making the older man wince. Naruto smirked as he formed a single hand seal, suddenly three copies of himself burst out of the smoke. The copies charged toward Widow and Beetle. Ozpin kept the barrier up, but it slowly began to crack against the arrows. Watching as Naruto took a seat on the ground while putting his kunai up, focusing hard on the oceanfront.

Ozpin hummed, "Are you tired, young man?"

"Not exactly, but my clones can hold those others off. I need a minute to do something, could you do something about that archer guy?" Naruto asked, focusing intensely at a source of Natural Energy he found.

Ozpin smirked, dropping the barrier and smacking the arrows away as he ran toward the archer. Mantis growled as he watched the older man somersault onto the top of the warehouse. Pointing his cane at the archer, Ozpin chuckled as he approached, riposting a throwing knife launched by Mantis by smacking it back.

Mantis's eyes widened as the knife sunk into his chest, he coughed up a wad of black substance, "What the hell…"

"Forgive me, but this is where your road end," Ozpin stated as he appeared right in front of the would-be assassin.

"NO!" Mantis screamed, only to have a cane thrust into his chest and out his back.

The archer slumped forward, life leaving his eyes as he began to turn into black dust. Ozpin whistled a tune as he stepped forward, grabbing the tip of his cane and pulling it through the rest of the man's disappearing body. Tapping it against the ground, the older man watched one of Naruto's clones was destroyed by Beetle.

His eyes widened as Beetle dodged the other clone and flew toward the original. He was going to move to help, but it was too late. Beetle laughed manically as he raised his sword up, slamming it down onto Naruto. Only, instead of blood and guts flying everywhere, the sword broke against Naruto's skin. Ozpin watched as an orange tint surrounded the blonde's eyes as he stood up.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Just in the nick of time, Dattebayo."

"What the hell?!" Beetle exclaimed, only to get punched through the warehouse just behind him.

Naruto shifted his footwork, turning in time to dodge a stream of silk launched by Widow. Widow growled, charging into close range, she laughed as she activated the Electric Dust in her sickles. The Shinobi stepped back before throwing a punch that she barely managed to dodge. That's what she believed until half her face caved in from an unknown force sending her flying against the ground. Stonework and concrete ground against her as she tore through it from the force, her aura failing her. With a nasty friction wound, Widow barely looked up in time as a Rasengan found itself in her chest.

She screamed, screeching in pain as she was blasted through the stonework, and into the water. Her lifeless body floated under the waves, it twitched for a moment, and then slowly she started turning to black dust. Beetle charged toward Naruto, who was facing away from him, he thought he had the surprise.

That ended with the blonde suddenly turning and grabbing him by the throat!

"Ack?!" Beetle choked as he was slammed into the ground!

Naruto had a Rasengan hanging just above the man's face, "Look here, freak…you're going to tell where my friend is, or I'll start blending!"

"Hehehe," Beetle chuckled, looking at the teen. "You think you scare me, a piss ant like you?"

"This "piss ant" is about to make a brain smoothie," Naruto slammed the man's head into the ground, "Talk!"

"My life is but a flicker, my Goddess is immortal, and you are just another obstacle to overcome. How you know of our pet, I'll not know, but I'd rather have my bloodshed with my comrades than tell you a damned thing." Beetle leaned his head back, smirking, "Do as you must…"

Struggling with himself, Naruto breathed hard, "Where is your Goddess?"

"I'd rather her show you herself, she'll come for you, you have a lot of power within you…hehehe." Beetle threatened him, sneering with a chuckle before spitting onto Naruto's face.

Naruto took a deep breath and then slammed the Rasangan down. The man twitched for a moment. His body laid motionless soon afterward. Naruto glared down at the corpse, watching slowly as it turned into black dust before floating away. Breathing hard, the blonde Shinobi pushed himself up from the ground and deactivated his Sage Mode.

Ozpin got near him, looking at the young man with concern, "You're not normal, are you?"

"What made that obvious," Naruto curtly inquired, "Was it me taking them out?"

"I took out half of them," Ozpin laughed as he tapped his cane on the ground, "To be fair."

"Doesn't matter, I need to get back to someone, who are you exactly? Because those guys seemed like someone that really hated you." Naruto observed, gauging the man's reaction.

Ozpin briskly picked up pieces of the broken sword, "I am The Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I'm Ozpin, and you, my friend, saved my life tonight."

"Don't mention it, or what you just saw…" Naruto told him, warning him as he straightened himself up.

"Say, wouldn't you be the same Naruto a man named Qrow mentioned?" The silver-haired man inquired.

Naruto's eyes widened, "Yeah, why?"

"Well…I have to say. His bad luck may have turned up something good after all. Here," Ozpin handed Naruto a card with his scroll number on it. "Call me tomorrow morning, I'll meet you somewhere, and make sure you wear something nice."

The silver-haired man watched as Naruto took the card, "After all, I wouldn't want a potential fighter to go without."

"Thanks, I guess," the Shinobi said, stunned slightly by the offer.

"Good, see you around, Mr. Uzumaki."


	9. Season One Episode Nine: The Chessboard

Darkness settled over a wasteland. Purple crystals jotted out of the sands, the skies lit up with purple lightning, dark clouds blotting out the sun. In the center of this wasteland, a castle, tall and vibrant. There was a small village of people inside of the wasteland, each of them wearing rough spun clothing. Looking more like slaves than freemen, the people made do with what very little they had.

Farms were useless, the game was scarce, only the most vicious of creatures lived in these lands. Grimm traveled in hordes, nightmarish in size, nothing like The Kingdoms had ever seen. Where dozens of Grimm attacked villages, these hordes consisted of hundreds to thousands, like black locust sweeping across the landscape.

They never ventured close to the village by the castle. Inside of that very castle, the person who ruled this dark land, a woman with ornate hair dressed in a bun with six fixings. Sitting upon her throne, looking at the empty table in front of her. A jellyfish-like Grimm floated down toward her, revealing images of a fight, the woman's demonic red eyes gazed into the images.

Her deathly pale face had violet veins running from her eyes and through her head and arms. The black cloak she wore obscured her feet as she got up, walking with the Grimm creature. The woman watched in one image as a silver-haired man stabbed through one of her assassins, Mantis, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, her assassins' two most powerful Widow and Beetle were taken out by the blonde-haired boy she had once seen before.

He seemed to interrogate Beetle before killing him. A dark smirk formed over her lips, the diamond on her forehead glowed slightly, and she traveled through her walls the people outside suffered. She was their Goddess, and their ancestors' sins of joining The Traitor God submitted them to a life of servitude. Traveling down the steps of her grand hall, the demoness chuckled with delight as she felt a rumble.

Tapping her foot against the ground, the grand hall opened, magical sigils lighting up the building. A flight of stairs led to the bowels of this complex. Inside of castle's bowels, she drifted along the ground. A door sealed with various sigils stood in front of her, and she smirked while waving her hand in front of it.

The dark sigils disappeared, opening the door, revealing a horrific site behind it.

A giant beetle, fifty meters in length, its wings were torn off. Laying upon the ground, above it, a flower-like creature sunk its vines into the beast, barbed and draining it of energy. The Beetle's body was partially turning black from being injected with the vine's substance. The roots of this creature stretched all the way to a nearby small sea of this very sludge.

It glared at her, **"I…will not break to you."**

"I don't need you to break," She told it with a sneer, snapping her fingers four people were dragged in all tied up. "I just need you to give me what I want."

They couldn't even shout a word as they were stabbed with various vines. Blood slowly leaked past the vines embedded inside of the people, a thick sludge mixed with green energy began to pour into them. The Beetle tossed and turned in his prison of vines and chains, the being roaring out in pain as its chakra was slowly suckled by the plant before being transferred into the people.

One of the people turned fully midnight black, exploding into the black sludge.

"Failure," The Goddess stated and turned to one that seemed to slowly calm down.

The one that calmed down was a woman, a burst of wind tore the ropes off her body. Getting up, the woman removed the mask to reveal red eyes. She coughed up some of the sludge, growing wings on her lower back that began to flutter. Another one slowly stopped thrashing, a man, and he got up while growing two extra sets of arms. His hands became clawed, his face becoming misshapen under his hood. Freeing himself by cutting the ropes with his new claws, the man's face was feared from its baggy prison as his teeth began to fuse and mutate into mandibles that slowly pushed out of his jaw. He screamed in pain, agonizing pain until it finally stopped.

The last one swelled up, it looked like he was going to burst until his body became thin again. A dark mist flowed out of his bag. The mist melted through the ropes, not affecting his skin, and allowed himself to be freed of his bindings. She watched as he took off his mask, revealing a ghostly pale face underneath with dark veins flowing from his throat and down.

The Beetle thrashed about, **"You're a monster…you killed them all!"**

"On the contrary, I saved them, from the wretched existence that is being human and Faunus. I made them me, I am a mother, giver of life. Their life, with pieces of me inside of them. You're just battery, but soon enough, you'll join my ranks. Chomei, if that is your name, how does the wound feel from being taken down by my hordes?" The Goddess inquired as she walked forward.

Thrashing about, the beast shouted, **"I may have fallen, but my brothers and sister will come for me!"**

"I sure they do, for this world's sake, after all, …more the merrier." She chuckled darkly, the beings kneeling behind her.

She turned to them, looking at the one with wings, "I shall name you Monarch."

"Yes mistress," Monarch breathed out, bowing further into the ground.

The six-armed brute monstrosity in front of her looked up, "What is to by name, Lady Salem?"

"I believe," Salem observed his new form, "Pincer."

The other man, lanky and thin breathed toxic mist from his mouth. She approached him, cupping his chin, making him look up at her.

"Your name, my son, is Bombardier." She told the poison breather, watching as he nodded.

Looking at the sludge remains of the failed subject, she sneered, "I suppose three will do…"

"What is our mission?" Monarch inquired.

She turned to Monarch, "Uzumaki Naruto, capture him, and bring him to me so that we may lure the ultimate prize."

The trio nodded, getting up slowly, walking out of the room.

 **"He'll find us,"** Chomei growled, glaring right at her. **"You are the not first he has fought, and you will fall."**

"My dear beast, I sure hope they come to me, we have an old score to settle after all…" Salem smirked, watching as The Beetle was about to say something.

With a snap of her fingers, electricity flowed from the flower above, electrocuting the beetle before it screams. She strolled out, a smug grin on her face, Salem ventured back up the stairs and caused them to rise back up, so the grand hall would look normal. As she made her up the stairs, back to her throne room, she stopped and turned toward the Grimm that had been following.

"Seer," she called its name and ordered, "Bring up Mistral's Storm Mountains."

The ball on the Seer's head lit up, connecting with another Seer, observing as a horde moved out. She watched as the horde of Beowolfs and Beringel. They are approaching a large cave system, but once they got to the entrance a jet of blue flames erupted out of it. Instead of being surprised, Salem merrily walked toward her throne, taking her rightful place upon this dark kingdom.

She snapped her fingers as a slave brought her a glass of wine. The slave bowed her head, backing away as her dark mistress took a sip of her choice drink. The dark mistress watched as those Grimm were slaughtered relatively easily, but it was fine. She had her ways, Chomei, the giant beetle had fought the same way in the sky.

However, everything had a breaking point. It had been a challenge, murders of Nevermore and fleets of Sphinx Grimm took time to make. The Giant Beetle was pushed, constantly, endlessly, for an entire two weeks. Fifty years ago, Salem had managed to capture this hulking behemoth, her grandest prize eluded her yet.

Chomei had fallen when she had designed Grimm specifically to detonate themselves into fireballs onto his wings. Right into the ocean, that giant beetle fell and grabbed by Leviathans, it was taken straight to hell. Sipping her wine, a little bit more, she got comfortable. Watching as more Grimm poured out of the forest.

 _'My wonderful, my feline friend, how long you'll last? You may be much smaller than that beetle, yet it makes you nimbler, a great flight risk if given the chance. Too bad, for you, I don't deal in chances. Still, the grand prize I seek bears seven more tails to your two, and I still cannot find him.'_ Salem finished her wine as she observed the battle.

"Slave," she called out to the girl that had handed her wine, "More wine."

"Yes, Mistress…"

* * *

The mountains rocked with blue flames shooting from inside of the cave. A cat made of blue flames, with dark blue markings across her body, lunged out and smashed through a pile of dark creatures. Roaring, her small stature of about twenty meters, and sleek form, easily dodged the several Nevermore in the air as they launched their barbed feathers.

Knocking down some trees, she grimaced as a squad of Beringels leaped onto her. Shaking them off, Matatabi charged a small ball of energy near her mouth. The Grimm had no chance of escape as she launched the ball of energy, burning everything in its path in blue flames. Dashing as fast she could, the flaming cat skidded to a stop near a cliff's edge.

 **"Damn it,"** she cursed, turning toward the encroaching horde. **_'No choice, I have to make a dive for it.'_**

Matatabi jumped backward, launching several dozen fireballs from her mouth. The fireballs impacted the Grimm in front of her, but she couldn't turn around in to counter the large claw that came from beneath the waves. Within a moment, she was caught in the grip of a giant Grimm, a Leviathan, it quickly slammed itself with her underwater. Trying to use her flames, Matatabi managed to boil the water around them, but the beast didn't let go.

Her head cocked up, observing several long snakelike Grimm with wings swimming underwater. She struggled more, charging a Bijuu Dama in front her, intending to take the head of the beast in front of her. With blasts of lightning impacting her back, the giant cat lost focus, and the orb dissipated.

Swallowing water, she felt her flames flicker. The beasts behind her didn't let up, blasting her with their lightning beams, electricity crackling all around her underwater. She reached up, drawing back, managing to claw the face of the Leviathan holding her down. Slicing one of its eyes out, she felt herself then beginning to get dragged.

 ** _'Chomei put up a better fight than me, whoever is behind these monsters knows us very well. It can't be, damn it all, I can't just go like this!'_** Matatabi mentally screamed at herself, she looked around and focused.

She took one last deep breath, glaring up at the beast's eye and noticing a jellyfish-like creature nearby it. Sensing energy heading into and from it, she figured it was some sort of sensor. Grimacing, Matatabi did the one thing she could do and smirked.

 ** _'You'll not have me yet,'_** Matatabi spoke as she closed her eyes before allowing her flames to fully die. **'** ** _If you're out there, I'm sorry Naruto, but I'll have to extend our reunion another few years. Father will not like me being captured, now to do my duty!'_**

She started taking massive gulps of water, she smirked as she looked up at the sensory creature. Drowning herself, she weakly closed her eyes, thinking of her former Jinchuuriki, Yugito Ni and the one she had to find again.

 ** _'Sayonara, for now, friend.'_**

* * *

Salem was standing up from her throne, watching as twin-tailed cat drowned itself. She lowered her head, smirking before snapping her fingers. The Leviathan suddenly ignited the ocean around it with its red-hot flames. Matatabi's heterochromatic eyes widened, her blue flames reigniting just enough to keep her alive and boil away any water inside of her.

 _'She tried to kill herself?'_ The dark Goddess sat back on her throne, analyzing what she just witness, _'Interesting…"_

The woman chuckled, _'I wonder, with two of them how much more powerful that flower that's growing will become?'_

She leaned back, finishing her second glass of wine, _'I do hope my flower blooms, ever since I fed most of that beast's energy to it, the petals have slowly opened up.'_

* * *

Naruto was watching as Emilia slept on a bed. He had kept his promise of getting her to a shelter. Sighing, the blonde exited the room. He watched as a matron approached him, stopping in front of the blonde, she spoke.

"We cannot keep her here more than three days," The Matron said as she clicked her heels. "The shelter has to cycle out homeless women and children, there are simply not enough beds."

"I understand, but she's been on the streets for a while, can you make an exception?" He argued with The Matron.

"No, I'm sorry, but she'll have to get back into a line that forms every three days." The Matron replied, and then sighed. "I don't like it either, in a perfect world we'd have enough room to shelter everyone. However, that's not the case."

Naruto grimaced, and took a deep breath, "So what if Winter comes and she can't find a place to stay? C'mon, she's just a little girl, Dattebayo."

"The rules are rules, I wish we'd have to resources to bend them, but unfortunately it is not the case. You were lucky to even find the one bed here," The Matron stated before starting to walk away.

Naruto reached out but failed to catch her in time as she continued to walk off. He glanced into the room, watching as Emilia coughed a little, she was at least in fresh clothing now. Growling, the blonde just felt his frustration boil and he debated on his next move. It was currently three in the morning, and he needed sleep before he met up with Ozpin.

Still, that fight a few hours ago changed things. He knew that chakra, no matter how dark it was, was Chomei's. Chomei was in danger, and somewhere deep inside of him, he knew that as a fact. His eyes focused on the room number she was, one-zero-one-zero. Tenth room, tenth child ward, what he came to learn about it. All those children, no parents, only a monster could cause such suffering.

He feared that very same monster, somewhere deep inside of his heart, he knew who that monster might be. Why else would these people hunt down Bijuu, even if Chomei was the only one to fall. From what Naruto gathered on Grimm, even if they were all weaker than even Shukaku, numbers often triumphed in a fight. Chomei probably put up a great fight, a spectacular fight, but without a Jinchuuriki his powers wouldn't be as focused.

His power diluted, hopeless outnumber by Hagaromo knows what, it wasn't hard to reach the conclusion that he'd been captured. The only question that remained, as simple as it was, where? Sighing, thoughts and worry filling his head, Naruto walked toward the entrance of the shelter. He'd have to come back, hopefully, Emilia would still be there, he wasn't just going to abandon her.

* * *

Flopping down on his motel room mattress, the blonde yawned as he felt his skin slightly crawl. Watching as a tiny black bug crawled on the mattress, the blonde flicked it off before adjusting himself. He'd have to vacate the room before eight in the morning, meaning he'd get only four hours of sleep. Yawning, he closed his eyes and slowly began to drift off.

A sound from his scroll snapped him out of his long-desired feeling relaxation. He looked down it, it was from Qrow. Answering the call, Naruto leaned on his pillow.

"Sup?" Naruto answered, rubbing his eyes.

 _"Nothing much, I'm at my favorite joint in the city, wanna get some drinks?"_ Qrow inquired, the blonde hearing tap a bar table of some kind.

He thought it over, looking at the small mirror in the room, "I don't have any Liens on me."

 _"Pfft, Lien Schnee, c' mon kid. What's the worst that's going to happen, you get a little drunk and crash at my place?"_ Qrow pressured Naruto lightly, chuckling over the phone.

Naruto sighed, "I have to do something important tomorrow, sorry."

 _"Ain't no sweat off my back,"_ the man replied as he was heard taking a glass into his hand. _"More for me, I guess."_

"Right," Naruto lamented as he looked up at the ceiling, "Night, Qrow."

 _"Night lightweight."_

* * *

Ozpin was sitting in his office, late at night, the man was finishing going over qualifying students for the tournament. That what he should've been doing, but instead, he had an old tome book. One of the many things he had collected over his years, and previously, like any fable he thought of it as having a hint of truth.

The tome had pictographs on pages opposite to translated texts. Pictographs depicting eight beasts surrounding a single person with another beast at his back, that person had something in their right palm. The beasts held different numbers of tails, going from one to nine. The first one, with one tail, was a Tanuki. The second one, made of flames and bearing twin tails, was Cat. The third one, three tails, was a Giant Turtle. The fourth, a massive Ape with squid-like tails. The fifth was some weird hybrid of a horse and dolphin, bearing five tails. The sixth one, with liquid running off its body, was a Slug. The seventh, easily recognizable with its one tail and six wings, was a Beetle. The eight was an Ox mixed with an octopus. However, unlike the four, The Nine-Tailed Fox stood behind the being.

Analyzing the tome, Ozpin leaned back, reading the fable aloud.

"Many generations ago, prior to the rise of empires and kings, there laid The Ancient City of Konoha. There, amidst tragedy, a child was born during the night of The Nine-Tailed Fox. That child was chosen, cursed to bear its power, he grew up alone." Ozpin flipped the page, continuing, "Summer came, Winter went, Spring breathed life, Autumn took it away. The boy, mischievous, took pleasure in pulling many pranks on the citizens of Konoha. Many likening him to The Nine-Tailed Fox that had killed many."

The page had the picture of a very demonic looking Fox, with it barely hanging over the child.

"Monster, demon, freak! They would cry, jeering him, many people not bothering to look upon him. The boy envied many, grew jealous of others and sought to become stronger. That need for strength pushed him to new limits, a constant need to validate his existence." The silver-haired man continued to read, flipping the page.

The next pictograph depicted the young boy becoming a young man.

"Many years went by, the boy found friends, and soon he left the village to travel with an old sage he met. Years went by, the boy did not grow in strength much, but he grew in intellect and learned of the world around him. Upon his return, he learned of others like him, Jinchuuriki. That they were being hunted, and so, he must train himself further." Ozpin noticed a trend as he read it aloud, _'You still needed to validate yourself.'_

Stopping his reading, the man yawned, "The boy at the docks seemed very familiar to that fable…if you're wondering why I read it aloud."

"I was hoping you weren't going crazy, Ozpin, because then I'd have to take charge." A blonde-haired woman stated, walking over toward him.

The silver-haired man laughed slightly, "Looking to move up in position, Ms. Goodwitch?"

"The only natural choice would be that I'd take over, after all, I am your direct successor here. Unless you have a secret deal with Oobleck I don't know about," Ms. Goodwitch replied, a certain poise to her movement and voice.

"Please, as if there would be anyone else. Just wondering about the strangest things, fables and fairytales coming true, all the typical stuff we work against in the shadows." Ozpin explained, and yawned, "I haven't had much sleep."

"You almost died."

"We all must die at some point, Ms. Goodwitch, but a man once said. "All men die, but many never truly live." If I fear death, around every corner, then I'd never have the willpower to accomplish what I must in the here and now." Ozpin closed the tome as he spoke.

Getting up, he stretched, "I suppose you came to argue Team RWBY's inclusion, or JNPR's?"

"Both, actually, I believe too young. Let's put in our veteran teams, we've still got two months to train them, and I think our veteran teams would show more promise." Goodwitch argued, looking at the files on his desk.

Ozpin nodded, "Maybe so, but lest we forget, they've been incredibly active. Ms. Rose's team has already stopped some bad men from doing bad things, and Mr. Arc's team continues to grow despite his fake admissions."

"I'd flung out."

"And, that Ms. Goodwitch, is where you still have to _learn_. If someone, somewhere, is so passionate about being apart of this. That they would seal their fate, put their lives on the line with little to no training, just for a simple chance at making difference…that is who we need." Ozpin retorted, putting the files up.

Glynda rolled her eyes, "And yet, who is going to compose the letter when such hopefuls die?"

"I would, gladly so, and that's something you need to learn. Talent may be great, a certain skill set, awe-inspiring. Pyrrha Nikos, probably the greatest potential in this school, but she lacks that significant _drive_. To know that you're hopeless, out of your league, yet, you still try." The silver-haired man continued, motioning her to walk with him.

"I won't be around forever, Ms. Goodwitch. If it hadn't been for that blonde stranger today, I'd probably been as good as dead. However, I wish to meet him tomorrow on time. In order to do that, I must have my rest. Good night, and please, think over my words." Ozpin patted her shoulder as he spoke, "You may be master, but even a master can learn from her elders."

"Yes sir," Ms. Goodwitch conceded, "I'll sign the paperwork needed to get them going."

"Right. By the way, Glynda, would you like to accompany me? The place we're supposed to meet is a good restaurant, we should treat ourselves, we work too hard. Especially you, with all your worries, think it over." Ozpin pressed a few buttons, looking at Glynda with a smile.

Glynda smiled, "I'll clear something up, good night Headmaster."

She watched as he rode the elevator down, walking over to the desk. Picking up the tome, he had been reading, she looked down at it.

 _'The Tale of The Fox Boy…an ancient folklore. It holds weight, even if the Titans remain hidden, yet, I fear for you.'_ She opened the to the tome's last page, depicting the death of The Fox Boy at his own hands.

"Some fairytales and folklore, no matter how important," she closes the tome fully, "Should be forgotten."


	10. Season One Episode Ten: Emilia

Naruto was walking toward the shelter. He watched as people walked around the streets. Ignorant to the events that happened just last night. If this had been Konoha the city would be closed off, with no one permitted in or out, regardless of who they were. Those people weren't natural, at least by this world's standard, and no amount of thought Naruto put into made any sense. On one hand, they had Bijuu Chakra inside of them, obviously from Chomei. On the other hand, their inner chakra like everyone and everything they had was very dark. It was almost like a Grimm's signature, even if they read as a black spot, a black spot still had energy.

It just didn't add up to him. The fact that The Headmaster of Beacon Academy was their target, no matter how planned it seemed, was compromised when he detected them. If they were smart, as it took skill to infiltrate when you looked like a God's greatest abomination and get to your target. Then, why would they be so stupid as to attack then, when another threat was present. Something was missing, something that was key, and it made Naruto take sideways looks at every other person he walked by. His sensory skills weeding through people, detecting anything and everything, yet nothing came from it.

The blonde figured that the squad of four was specifically tailored to kill Ozpin. From what he remembered, other than the one Ozpin immediately killed, their names were Widow, Beetle, and Mantis. Widow, obviously due to her ability to use webbing, was probably meant to lock him down. Mantis provided the ranged support, if need be, execution. Beetle was the main fighter, which made that fourth one a medic if he was then why did he attack first?

 _'Gah,'_ Naruto gripped his head _, 'This too much of a headache as if this place couldn't get weirder Dattebayo!'_

Choosing to withhold his thoughts, the blonde had made his way across the street. His stomach rumbling, he had no money, which made him stop. How was he supposed to afford something nice to wear, let alone find some place to sleep tonight? Sighing, the blonde just walked forward, and stood outside of the shelter as a line of women and child already began to form. It was obvious that with how fast people were arriving, Emilia wouldn't get a bed to sleep on.

The Wolf Faunus walked out, looking at him, she had a small bag draped over her shoulder. She gave him a small smile, walking toward him, she held out a piece of bread. Taking the bread, Naruto and her both ate a slice, watching as people walked on by. More and more children that left the shelter running and some desperately getting into the line leading back into the same place.

"Did you sleep alright?" Naruto inquired from the girl.

She nodded, "Yeah, the bed were comfortable."

"That's good, um, have you eaten anything?" The blonde asked as he noted the small bag of bread smooshed in her little bag.

She shook her head, "Not really, mister."

"Naruto, just say Naruto, alright?" Naruto reminded her, and then he had an idea, "I tell you what, we're going to have some fish!"

"What, really, from where?!" Emilia asked excitedly, her mouth watering at the prospect.

Naruto held his hand out, allowing her to take hold of it. They both started walking toward the docks.

* * *

Dodging through the city streets, with the duo getting looks, the duo made their way through the lower quarter. She watched as the lower quarter went by quickly, her stomach grumbling. They noticed police investigating a Dust Shop that had been broken into. Taking time to observe the police, Naruto noted an officer questioning a Faunus. He got handsy, pushing him slightly, and the Faunus just simply held his hands up. Several other officers went about questioning other Faunus as well.

Sighing, he looked at her, "Not all of them are like that."

Emilia frowned, looking up at him, "Why are they being mean?"

"Because," Naruto took a moment before replying, "They're just scared of The White Fang."

"Those guys with the funny looking masks?" The Wolf Faunus questioned, "I always wanted to wear one…"

"Trust me, Emilia, its better to just be yourself. Anyway, I'm going to be teaching you something today as well. So, get ready, alright?" Naruto told her, surprising her slightly.

She nodded, "R-really?"

"Yep, and I bet its something you never thought of before!" Naruto stated as he walked over toward a trashcan.

He sifted through the garbage, pulling out a piece of half eaten chicken. Emilia grimaced slightly, watching him as he peeled the meat off and put it on the small hook he kept in a side-pocket of his bag. The blond whistled as he motioned her to follow him, getting nearer to the docks. He reached over to a pouch on his right hip, pulling some wire out. Attaching the wire to a hook, Naruto sat on his knees, looking down at the water.

"You may not find wire as I have, but fishing lines that are thrown away can be reused. What you wanna do is scope out how many fish are swimming around, the less there are, the more likely you won't catch them. Fish are like the garbagemen of the world, they'll eat pretty much anything, so this piece of rotting chicken may be disgusting to us…but to them it's like a candy bar." Naruto explained to her, showing her how to tie the knot and how to place the bait on the hook.

She grumbled, "I really want a candy bar now…hmmm."

"Hey now," Naruto laughed as he made her focus, "Pay attention."

Letting gravity slip the wire out of his hand, the blonde stays motionless. She watched, through the clear water, the chicken floating just under the water. She was about to speak when Naruto moved his hand a little bit to the right, she saw oil come off the chicken, staining the water slightly. That's when a bass approached, swimming right up to it. It wasn't too large, about a two pounder. Breathing slowly, the Shinobi focused on the fish, moving his index finger to flick the wire a little bit.

The fish scurried away for a moment, and Emilia seemed downtrodden until it suddenly came back and snapped up the bait. Almost as soon as it did, Naruto pulled his back and hooked the bass. It flopped around as he began to drag it upward, pulling it onto the stone dock. She watched as the fish flopped on the stone, the blonde then pulled a kunai out of a utility pouch.

"The trick to fishing like this is patience," He tells her as he placed the kunai firmly against the fish's head. "Never be too eager to pull the bait back in, but always be on the watch."

"Once you have your fish," Naruto pushed the kunai as he spoke, stabbing the fish through the head. "Kill it quickly, so it doesn't suffer more than it needs too."

Emilia watched as he stood up, carrying the fish by the tail. She saw him walk toward a pile of junk wood, and metal. He pulled the metal out, bending it into a bowl-like shape while grabbing a flatter piece. He shaped the flatter piece, slightly cutting his hand in the process. She watched him take the dried-out junk wood, placing it in the large piece of metal.

"It may seem rough, and Gods know how long you been out here, Emilia. I figured out a few tricks on my own, growing up. Survival is one-part physicality, and two parts creativity. You can be like a tiger, but if you don't know how to constantly get food from a source, you'll still starve." Naruto explained to her, remarking survival, teaching her.

Naruto took a couple of broken stones off the aging dock. He clacked them hard together, causing a spark. The spark flew into the dried wood, and with some encouragement from the air blowing from his mouth, the sticks caught fire. The crackling of wood filled Emilia's ears, she was surprised that it seemed so easy, and it had been right in front of her the last couple of years. She watched as he flopped the fish down and took the kunai and placed it flat against the fish's scales.

"Normally, if you were near a park or woodland you could skewer a fish. However, fish with scales tastes kind of icky, and I only eat if I'm really hungry." He told her, making sure she watched.

he began to descale the fish with his kunai. Flipping the creature over, he descaled the other side rapidly and made sure to show her what it should look like. The Shinobi then raised the knife up, bringing it back down and cutting off the fish's head. Emilia's eyes widened, slightly fearful at how hard he struck it.

"Normally, chefs would use a fillet knife for this." Naruto reached over and brought her closer as talked.

He glided the kunai over the fish, "What you're going to do is take a regular knife. Cut from the tail, if you feel a bump, that's the fish's ribs. You never go past those, because then you ruin the meat by spilling its stomach contents into it."

"Eww," Emilia grimaced, watching as he fillets the fish with ease, exposing its organs.

She watched as he flipped over, blood staining the dock, and cutting the other side. Cutting the last bit of good meat off, he set both onto the flat metal he bent to have a sort of handle. Placing it into the fire, she heard the skin of the meat hiss as it began to cook. She smelled it, the fish smelt bland, but her mouth watered regardless. A few minutes go by, and with a hum of success, Naruto pulled the makeshift skillet off the fire.

"And, this Emilia, is Naruto Uzumaki's Garbage Fish Fillet!" He joked, rubbing the back of his heat with his free hand.

Cutting the meat up into four slices for each side, Naruto held out his hand, she caught the hint. Getting into her smooshed bag of bread, Emilia pulled out two slices of bread for them both and watched as Naruto piled the fish onto the bread. He took his jacket off, revealing his mesh shirt, and placed it on the ground. Sitting on it, he motioned for her to do the same. Both watching as seagulls eyed their food, and with the blonde flicking them off aggressively.

"Why do you hate them?" She inquired.

"Thieving, flying rat bas-I mean buttheads," Naruto answered, humming as he took a bite out of his fish sandwich, packed with meat.

Swallowing it, he looked at, nothing with his head to try it. She hesitantly opened her mouth, placing the very corner with meat in it in her mouth, and bit down. The girl chewed the piece off, chewing through the rather soft meat. Humming, she swallowed the first piece of the sandwich before taking another bite. The girl giggling slightly, she quickly finished her sandwich.

"Ahwoo~!" She howled in enjoyment, making Naruto laugh, while she sat there embarrassed at the sudden outburst.

Naruto patted her head, "Don't be embarrassed, I have trouble controlling mine as well?"

"Well, is it like a yip, considering you're a fox Faunus?" She inquired, smiling innocently.

Naruto took a deep breath, "That's the thing, Emilia. I'm not a Faunus, these are just markings, birthmarks."

"So, wait," she looked at him before feeling his face and her eyes widened. "Oh man, that's so…weird."

"Hehehe," Naruto rubbed the back of his while chuckling, slightly flustered. "I get confused sometimes as well, but my little verbal tick is something I inherited from my mother. I scream out, Dattebayo when I'm excited."

"What does it mean?" She inquired, never hearing a word like it.

"It doesn't really mean anything, it's my way of saying ya know when I'm really happy," Naruto replied, the blonde staring outward toward the open water.

She took notice, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Nah, just thinking of an Old Man that taught me how to fish like this. He, um, died when I was younger…" He explained, but the tear leaving his left eye didn't hide his emotion. "I loved him like a grandfather, and…well…life happens."

Emilia sniffled a little bit, "I miss my papa, he wanted to take me fishing…but I just found it icky."

"I'm sure he isn't mad at you, Em. You're just a kid, and a kid shouldn't be filled with regret…" Naruto tells her, getting up.

"C' mon, I'm going to try and find you another shelter to stay in," Naruto told her, holding out his hand.

She smiled, taking, "Okay!"

"What about the fire," she suddenly realized.

He smiled, forming a hand seal before a clone popped up, "Sup?"

Naruto stared at the fire, the clone looked at him, and with a nod dived right into it. Smothering the flame in its dispersed smoke, she giggled a lit bit, the clone just swanned dived in without a second word. The poor thing just seems to glare at its creator before doing so. The duo began walking up the stairs, only to get stop by a police officer.

"Excuse me, young man," The Police Officer held his hand up to block Naruto's path, "We're investigating the area for the break-ins still ongoing across the city. Where were you in between the hours of Three A.M and Six?"

"I was in my motel room, trying to sleep, its nearer to other ends of the lower quarter," Naruto answered, honestly.

"Okay then, what's your name?"

Naruto looked at the man, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Weird name, anyway, who's this girl?" He pointed a pencil at Emilia.

"M-my name is Emilia Blackwood," She answered nervously.

"Alright Fido, where were you?" The Police Officer mocked the girl a little bit.

Naruto growled, "Hey, there's no need for that. I helped her find a women's and children's shelter just a couple of miles away."

"I'll determine what's needed," The Officer pushed Naruto, "You got that, Critter."

"Naruto got closer to the man's face while growling, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."

Reaching down for his baton, the officer was about to strike at the blonde. The Officer stopped when he saw a Monkey Faunus run past detectives. Scuffing, he let's go of the handle and glared right Naruto. The Shinobi and LEO squared up, ready to throw punches if it came to it. The two glared into each other's eyes, the older man sneered, putting a finger on his cheek. Daring the blonde, Naruto responded in kind with a death glare.

It all came down to who blinked first, and within moments of the death glare, the weaker willed LEO wilted.

"You get lucky this time, Critter, take yourself and that girl out of here!" He ordered, with Naruto shoulder checking him as he pushed past the man.

It took everything he had not to launch him across the dock!

* * *

Emilia and Naruto walked across the city, with the blonde checking other shelters with his clones. The blonde sighed, most of the higher up Shelters were for abused women with their own children, or abused men. The middle of the city was completely booked, and once again the duo was searching in the lower quarter. The Wolf Faunus saw him wince, she looked at him concern before stumbling. Her legs were tired, she was very tired. Reaching out to her, he picked her up and put the girl on his shoulders. The girl looked at him, surprised by the kindness he continued to show.

"Aren't you tired as well?" She asked, watching him stare into the crowds in front of them.

He replied, still smiling, "From walking? No way, I can run around this city if I wanted too, and not break a sweat. Besides, you seemed like you were struggling, but I do have some good news!"

"What is it?" She placed her elbows on his head innocently, without thought.

"I found a shelter, but it is weird that things are like this, why doesn't Vale have an actual orphanage?" Naruto inquired, feeling jaded on her behalf.

"Vale isn't exactly a miracle place, most orphanages closed down a year ago. I remember getting into a shelter and being told I had to leave a couple of days later. It scared me, and I almost got taken by bad people…" She lowered her head and whimpered, "I hate this city…"

"Em," Naruto stopped and looked up at her to where their eyes met. "Hate is a very strong word. I hate people that lie to themselves, and you hate your situation, but don't hate the city itself…hate the losers that take from the cookie jar."

"Mmm cookies," Emilia groaned, missing the sweet morsels. "Mi…I mean Naruto, I never asked…why do care so much?"

"You remind of a younger me," Naruto admitted, rounding a street corner. "I was much louder though, constantly pranking people, Dattebayo."

"Why would you do that, didn't they hate you?" Emilia inquired, confused as to why he'd prank random people.

Naruto giggled a little, "They did, boy oh boy did they hate my guts. Fox Child this, freak that, yadda-yadda-yadda. I think a lot of them just couldn't see the humor of it, but it did me one service, and that it meant no one could simply walk past me."

"Still," the blonde frowned as he continued, "I didn't get what I really wanted. I just wanted a friend, someone to relate, and I found that friend by a dock. We didn't really speak words that day, but we fought a lot in school when I was able to go."

"His name was Sasuke, emo, always brooding. I never really understood him until we got older, and we…" He took a deep breath, remembering the battle, "Went out separate ways."

"Oh…did you two fight?" She asked innocently, not paying attention to Naruto's face as he scrounged up a bit.

"A li-little," Naruto choked out slightly, swallowing his sadness as they kept walking toward the shelter. "Hey, Em, can we change the subject?"

"Oh, um, sure…" she got a sly grin on her face. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

The blonde nervously laughed a little bit, remembering Rosa and Vernal. Though neither were his girlfriend(s), he still had to admit they had a good time together. Vernal, being a one-day fling. Rosa, on the other hand, is really the only real relationship he had. Neither of them was romantic with each other, both just realized that they were acting out their base urges. Sex was a very powerful influencer, and the human mind is anything, but truly indomitable.

Rosa taught him a _lot_ , during their brief two-month frequent trysts. Vernal, by the way, she talked, confirmed that Rosa's "training" had been very much effective.

The flat and simple answer, he replied with a smile, "Nope."

"Ahh, that sucks," Emilia sighed as she continued to lean on her elbows.

* * *

The duo continued to walk across streets, coming to the shelter shortly after their talk. Letting her down, she and Naruto entered the shelter. A lady at the reception area looked at him, and then looked at the girl. Smiling, the receptionist is a Faunus herself with claws on her hand, handed them a form to fill out.

Emilia took the form, repeating what they had done the previous day that she figured out.

"How long can she stay?" Naruto inquired, just so he could be here if they were doing a cycle.

The receptionist smiled, "Three days, like all other shelters."

"Alright, hey, where is the nearest orphanage?" Naruto asked, trying to find Emilia more permanent lodgings.

The woman sighed, "Sadly sir the nearest orphanage would be on Patch, which is the small Island near here. Even then they may be reaching full capacity. There's also Sumire, but that's a journey near The Border Mountains."

"Is Sumire near Shajara, by chance?" Naruto asked.

"It is," She answered before getting the forms that Emilia was handing back to her, "Thank you, dear."

Emilia nodded, watching as Naruto shrugged her pack off his shoulders. The blonde knelt, smiling.

"Hey, Em, I'll be back in a few days so I can help you find another place to go. Perhaps I can teach you more stuff as well," Naruto told her with a smile, "But, remember, you've got my scroll number just in case something happens."

The girl slightly whimpered before wrapping him in a hug, "Okay…thank you…"

To Naruto's surprise, the girl began to cry, something struck a chord inside of him, and he returned the hug. There was a moment that Naruto's soul screamed to him, telling him to just say screw it, and bring her along. Alas, however, what he wanted and what she needed were two vastly different things. There was no guarantee that Ozpin could even accommodate her, which meant that the only real option until he could get her into an orphanage was this. Breaking the hug, Naruto did something that only Sasuke had done when they were kids.

He tapped her on the forehead, a smile laced across his face.

* * *

Glynda was sitting at a table in an upscale restaurant. She checked her watch, Ozpin had gone to the washroom for a moment, and the person they were supposed to be meeting should be arriving at any moment. The blonde's green eyes focused on another blonde that just entered, wearing some cargo pants and a yellow T-shirt with black combat boots. The receiver for the restaurant guided him over toward her table, where he shook the man's hand and stood to greet Glynda.

"Hello," the blonde held out his hand, "My name is Naruto."

"Glynda," she replied, motioning for him to sit down.

The Shinobi took a seat, yawning as he did, he saw a menu in front of his seat. His stomach wasn't growling as much, but he felt hungry, unfortunately, he had no money. He spotted Ozpin walking toward them and saw the man smile. He took a seat next to Glynda, obviously, the piping hot cup in front of him was full of cocoa, he nodded at Naruto.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Uzumaki," Ozpin stated, holding out his hand.

The blonde took it, shaking it. Pulling his hand back, the duo in front of him began to look through their menus, and he simply set his aside. Taking notice of this, Glynda shook her head and looked at Ozpin.

"He definitely needs a job," She stated bluntly.

Ozpin chuckled, flipping over to the steaks, "I can agree to that. His combat ability is above my own anyhow, but that leads me to question him this."

He looked right into Naruto's eyes, whispering, _"How do you know about magic?"_

Naruto caught on, looking around, _"Magic?"_

 _"Magic let's be frank Mr. Uzumaki, you are a terrible liar in a fight. Those combat techniques aren't aura, and you cannot possibly have more than one semblance. The fact that you took care of the two tougher enemies that, even I admittingly, would have some trouble against is proof that you're not normal."_ Ozpin dissected as he watched Naruto squirm a little bit, _"No need to be alarmed, as far as I'm concerned…we're allies."_

The Shinobi took a deep breath, _"It is not magic, but it is not aura based either. I'm not normal, to begin with, even from where I'm from. You want blunt honesty from me, you'll get it, but all that I ask is first let's talk in a more private area."_

Clearing his throat, Ozpin coughed and replied, "Very well, I can see your very astute…you will start on Monday."

"Oh, um, thank you, sir. I really needed this job," Naruto chuckled nervously.

Glynda looked at them both, smacking her face, _'They're both terrible actors…'_

Naruto then sighed, "Actually, Monday I need to do something…you see there's this girl, Emilia."

"A girl," The Headmaster hummed, "What of it?"

"She's an orphan, I've been bouncing all day trying to find her a place to go. I told her that I'd go back Monday to her shelter and pick her up so she could find another one in time. I don't know, honestly, what to do. I feel bad for her situation because I grew in a similar situation, but at least I had a roof over my head, Dattebayo…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, explaining his situation was a lot tougher than he realized.

Glynda sighed, "Unfortunately, we cannot permit children under ages of fourteen onto our campus grounds. It's a safety issue, and even then, fourteen-year-olds have to be invited to join."

"Yes, this is quite the pickle, but I can see your forthcoming is in the right place. If this girl, Emilia, needs you. Then you already have my permission to enter and exit the grounds as you see fit, so long as I don't need you explicitly for something that only you'd be capable of." Ozpin reasoned with Naruto.

The blonde Shinobi nodded, "Deal."


	11. Season One Episode Eleven: Inner Circle

A silver-eyed girl looked across a small table, exclaiming to a lilac-eyed blonde her victory strategy. "I shall move my Vacuoian Sand Riders toward Sumire, where they shall conquer the region! Thusly, your last stronghold before your capital city shall FALL MUAHAHA!"

"Well, Commander Ruby, while that is true…you activated my trap!" The blonde exclaimed, flipping a card over. "My army has set up a night raid, with it, I use it to take your heavy tanks!"

"No, not my tanks, how dare you?!" Ruby admonished the blonde, pointing at her accusingly.

The snicker of the blonde grew, "And with it…since it is now my turn. I shall counter-attack you, using my Valian Tanks!"

"Gah, Commander Yang, you've outsmarted me! However, this isn't the end, for I shall return to conquer your lands!" The rosette declared, pulling her remaining troops back on her turn.

An icy blue-eyed girl sitting behind Ruby snorted, "She's going to use that momentum, Ruby."

"She'd be a fool, Weiss, a fool to cross into my desert!" Ruby declared, watching as Yang smirked.

Her smirk grew considerably larger, "Oh, wanna think that over Rubes? Because I have something from Atlas!"

She held out her card, "Atlasian Battleship, Omega!"

"NO!" Ruby shouted, recoiling as Yang moved the piece over her units. "They have families, show mercy!"

Yang sneered, waving her off, "Pish-Posh. There is no mercy, now with my cannons, I lay upon thee an EXTERMINATUS!"

Making explosions sounds, Yang wiped the board of Ruby's units, watching as her crestfallen face recognized her defeat. A blonde-haired teen with blue eyes sat behind Ruby, by him was a redhead with green eyes, watching as the rosette became sullener than she previously was after the counterattack. She watches as the older blonde marched her troops towards Vacuo's capital, using Mobility Cards she had saved up throughout the match. When Ruby's Vacuoian flag was felled, and a Valian one raised, the entire board waved the great banner of axes.

"The legend that is Yang Xiao-Long, conqueror of Remnant, and defeater of sisters!" Yang exclaimed proudly, getting up with her fist at her hips.

Ruby, sullenly, got up and outstretched her hand. "GG…"

Yang took it, "GG little sis," she says while looking at the door.

The blonde behind Ruby patted the girl's shoulders, "Hey crater-face, its all good. You'll get her next time; War for Remnant is a tough game."

"Thanks, Jaune, but man, I was so close~!" She bemoaned, and then groaned, "I'll never have such a good game like that ever again…"

"That isn't true, another day is just another opportunity, besides we know you can beat Yang!" The redhead laughed, "After all, you did beat Weiss."

The ice-eyed girl looked at the redhead, "Pyrrha…we agreed not to talk about it."

"Come now, I'm sure you could put some Weiss on that burn," Pyrrha tried to pun, making Yang snicker.

Weiss was flustered, looking away, "Blake, can you help me out a little?"

The Cat-eared Faunus looked up from her book, humming, "Nope."

Getting up from the chair, Blake closed her book. She yawned, stretching, exposing her navel. Sliding the chair back under the table she got it from, the teen walked toward the exit door of the library. She looked at her team, smiling. Motioning for them to follow them if they wanted, Yang yawned, scratching her backside as she walked toward Blake.

"Yeah, I'm tired too kitty cat," Yang stated and looked toward Jaune. "Maybe you can teach my sister a few moves since you beat Pyrrha."

"Wait," Ruby glared at Jaune, "You defeated Pyrrha, and didn't even tell me?!"

"Well…no." Jaune replied bluntly, "Pyrrha made a mistake, I capitalized…and Yang is right. I have a few moves I can teach you, seriously, there some rookie mistakes that she made I'd dismantled her army with."

"Oh, really vomit boy," Ruby giggled and pulled the board closer so he could sit down, "Show me!"

"I meant to ask, where is Nora…and Ren?" Weiss inquired, noticing the blonde and redhead lacking two members.

Pyrrha looked at her, "Nora's Training Regime, its leg day."

"Oof," the white-haired heiress winced.

* * *

Naruto was sitting in a forest. He was supposed to meet with Ozpin for a tour of Beacon. However, he had a matter to discuss with an old friend. Sitting in lotus, the blue-eyed Shinobi focused hard on being calm. The mediation would take a moment, but slowly he began to drift into the state he needed to be in. All around him, his mind began to shift the area, like water, the area began to flow away. The Realm of Spirits became visible to him as he opened his eyes.

Six Paths Chakra flowing through him, his irises went from toad-like to foxlike, allowing him to stand up. The glowing on his right hand sent out a pulse as he raised it up. Clouds began to form in front of him, stepping out of them, Hagaromo bowed in greetings to the younger Sage. Hagaromo looked at Naruto, his Rinnegan scanning over the blonde, noting the fresh generation of Six Paths chakra.

"I see that you've gathered enough natural energy to transform it into Six Path's Chakra. Very impressive, as well as your deeds over the last few months. Still, however, you do not come here to simply chat, do you?" The Rikudō Senin inferred with a question, sitting upon his Truth-Seeking Orbs after getting comfortable.

Naruto glared at him, "I don't if I should even trust you…"

Hagaromo looked surprised, "Why the hostility, young man?"

"You didn't tell me none of The Bijuu were still here. Now there being hunted down, again. Yet, you chose to make sure I didn't know, why?" Naruto growled as he felt his rage boiling.

The Sage sighed, "I didn't want to tell you in fear that your actions would draw _her_ to you."

"Let me guess," Naruto crossed his arms, "Salem?"

"That would be the name, yes. Naruto-san, for what it is worth, I am sorry. Chomei, and now Matatabi, are suffering under her hand. Believe me, I wish them no harm, they are my children as well. My greatest feat, and my greatest example of Ninshu. They are connected to you, me, and Nature itself. I fear, for you, that she may move against you soon enough. You've been watched since Shajara, she knows who you are." Hagaromo answered Naruto.

"Then why won't you let go and save them, what about Kurama?!" Naruto yelled, demanding an answer.

Hagaromo sighed, "Kurama is fine, he sleeps still. I feel that even if Salem found him, she couldn't do much to capture him."

"The reasons I didn't tell you, is exactly this. You would charge blindly if you are captured, she'd make sure Kurama knew. If Kurama got captured, all other of his brothers and sisters would've quickly fell as well. She'd have the ultimate tool to her victory, but I fear, her victory isn't simply just conquering Remnant." Hagaromo revealed, gazing at the incoming souls.

Naruto watched as a child's soul floated down into the ether, glowing bright blue, flowing into the golden light. The Rikudō Senin merely sighed, saddened by the death of a child at the hands of a beast of the night. He turned to the younger Sage, watching as Naruto looked away. He was angry, hurt, over the fact that such a key detailed was hidden from him. His Six Paths Chakra began to fade, it was a short-lived burst, and the blonde his time was running short.

"It's been a month since we last spoke," Naruto sighed as he talked to Hagaromo. "I'm sorry if I'm upset, I just can't bear the thought of friends being hurt. I don't have to stand around either, there's gotta be a way to help them!"

Hagaromo nodded, replying to him, "Indeed there is. That Sun Mark on your hand remains, because of it, you can awaken their true power once more and take them into you."

"Okay, so, _where_ are they?" Naruto inquired, hoping to get to the nearest one soon.

The blonde noticed the old man lower his head, "I don't know…their presence is blocked from me. I fear The Dark God is meddling with my ability to sense them."

"Then let me to talk to that jerk," Naruto yelled out, "You hear me, I want to talk to you!"

"Naruto-san, its not that simple…he's chosen his side and champion. This game they play, for whatever reason, is more dangerous than you couple possibly imagine. They've both forsaken the natural order, impurity upon both Pure and Material Worlds. Their pride blinds them from human suffering, their lust for knowledge dilutes their care for life, you shall not get sympathy out of them." Hagaromo stated, talking down Naruto from yelling out into the void.

Breathing hard, the blonde just took a deep breath to calm down, "So? That's it huh, go find The Bijuu and reunite them?"

"No," Hagaromo corrected him, "The plan is for you to lay low and try to think of a way for them to meet _you_!"

Getting confused, Naruto took a moment to think, "How does Ozpin know about me?"

"He is a champion of The Light God as well. Do not reveal what you know, he trusts very few, and if he trusts you then it's all the better." Hagaromo responded, trying to answer as transparent as possible.

Naruto sighed, "Then who am I the champion of?"

"The Light God as well, as I said, they play with things like toys." Hagaromo reminded Naruto, considering that their time was short.

The blonde faced away from Hagaromo, feeling as if body weighed a ton, "What happened to Kaguya?"

"I don't know, once again, The Dark God blocks my view. He chose as her as a champion, and for all I know…he chose no one else." Hagaromo answered him, but then looked weary. "If my mother is on Remnant, her presence would've already been felt through the world, either by herself…or through something else."

"Black Zetsu," Naruto realized, a shudder going through his spine. "I didn't see him with Kaguya."

"Hmm," Hagaromo looked at Naruto, "I'll have to inform Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Wait, don't…"

"Don't?"

"Don't forget to tell him that he's a Teme." The blonde laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

The area around him began to fade out as he sat down, getting into a meditative lotus. Hagaromo approached Naruto, putting his hand on his back as the forest started to come into view. The Sage's hand turns to dust as the forest became reality. Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself back within reality. Standing up, stretching, he felt sore as he looked up toward the clearing of the canopy. The sun was starting to go through the latter parts of its cycle, indicating he had been in mediation for a couple of hours.

"Crap," Naruto bemoaned, "I'm really out of practice when it comes to this."

 _'Without any of their chakra inside of me, I cannot maintain my Six Paths Chakra for long.'_ Naruto flexed his right hand, _'I need to train it…'_

He looked up toward the sky, glaring it almost, _'I'm not your toy and neither are my friends.'_

* * *

"I still don't get it," Yang said to Blake as she opened a can of soda. "So, Oobleck has a coffee in that thermos?"

"Yes." Blake confirmed, she turned the page in her book, "It's not half bad actually."

"Okay, but isn't Dust supposed to be dangerous to consume?" Yang reasoned, and she then pointed out, "Oobleck should be burning."

"Maybe he has a semblance that allows him to consume Dust," Blake replied and began reading the scene in the book. "Burn Dust is highly energetic."

"True," the bombshell blonde agreed, "But if that was the case wouldn't he prefer Electric Dust?"

The Cat Faunus hummed, surprised by Yang's logic, "True."

Yang then thought for a moment, and looked at a cloud go by, "I wonder what it would be like to be a Bird Faunus?"

"It's not really that great," Blake told her as she flipped a page. "I had a friend who told me that it was just like walking. The thing is wings make it hard to walk through tight spaces and its just extra targets."

Yang nodded, "Yeah, I can see that…"

"Hey, Blake, are you alright?" The Blonde suddenly asked. "You know, since the docks?"

"I'm fine, besides, we've already made up for that. Still, the media is spinning it whatever way it can to make it sensational. It's a bunch of garbage," Blake stated as she put her book at her lap. "My father was once the leader of The White Fang. We try and try to be peaceful, but under…Sienna…it just got more violent."

Yang frowned, patting her friend's back, "Hey. Don't be down about it, there's still some saving them. Everyone can change, ya know."

The Faunus thought about it, until a redhead appeared in her mind, "I'm not so sure…I know a few people…"

Blake sighed, looking toward Beacon's surrounding walls, noticing something. Her eyes squinted, and then she saw him. A blonde, hopping over the wall in one go. Yang noticed her friend looking a figure in the distance, getting up, both began walking toward the person. Not taking any notice of them, the person suddenly vanished in a burst of speed. Blake's eyes widened at how fast he seemed to just move, one moment he was there, the next moment he wasn't.

"What the…" Yang mumbled as she looked toward her partner, "That was _fast_."

"And worse," Blake got her scroll out, bringing up Glynda's contact, "I'm going to contact Glynda. Yang, get Ruby and Weiss, quickly!"

"Right," the blonde agreed and began running toward the main building.

Blake began to think about where the person headed. Judging by his speed, either his semblance was activated, or he was just fast. Quickly, the teen ran to where she had seen the person pointed his body at. Looking up at the taller walls lining the school, mostly used for parkour practice, she could've sworn she someone moving in the shadows of them. Her scroll began to buzz, looking at it, she found that it was Glynda calling her.

"Ms. Goodwitch," she answered it, "I think I am in pursuit of an unknown person on grounds."

 _"Stand down Ms. Belladonna, U.P is an invited guest of The Headmaster,"_ Glynda replied, Blake could hear her tapping on something. _"Please call of Yang before she tears down half the school…"_

"Right…" Blake nervously replied, "I'll call her right now."

Glynda hung up as Blake scrolled through her contacts, bringing up Yang's number and pressing the dial icon. She watched as her scroll flashed, with it bringing it up a video call. The blonde bombshell was in the locker rooms with Weiss and Ruby, they were already grabbing their weapons.

 _"Yo, Blake, we're gonna be there soon!"_ Yang told Blake as she was putting on the last of her gauntlets on.

"Stand down, Glynda told us to stand down…" Blake told her partner, watching as the blonde stopped.

Yang looked at her, _"Oh, really that's some bullsh-…"_

Blake hung up before Yang could finish her statement, the Cat Faunus sighed. She saw the shadow move, a nervousness coming over. Very few people she knew could move at speeds like this, and one of them made her dread living. Shaking a little, she brushed off the feeling after a moment and began walking back toward the student halls.

* * *

Ozpin watched as a window opened in his office, "You could've just taken the elevator…"

"It's something an old friend of mine used to do," Naruto stated as he entered the office. "Sue me for wanting to have some fun."

"Speaking of fun, you almost caused a U.P moment," Glynda stated, entering through the elevator.

Naruto blinked, "You pee…um…I don't think Ozpin here is a baby."

Pinching her nose, Glynda looked at her fellow blonde, "Unknown Person."

"Ooh," the Shinobi realized. "You could've just said that, Dattebayo."

 _'Please don't be another Qrow,'_ Glynda begged the Gods. "Mr. Uzumaki, regardless of how you got here, you are here."

"Not really much choice," Naruto replied as he placed both hands behind his head. "I'm just processing how big this place is, plus I had to dodge around one of your students on the way in here."

"Ahh, so that is what Ms. Belladonna was talking about. The student that spotted you almost called a U.P alert, which means a total lockdown of school grounds. Considering it is the weekend, well, that wouldn't make you too popular around here." Glynda hotly pointed out to him.

"Because you'd have to go through, follow procedure, and that's a headache." The Shinobi figured.

"Exactly," she replied.

Naruto sighed, "Well, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it didn't happen, but I do have a particular hotheaded student who's been not having a fight recently. She thought it was "go" time, and currently, she's probably punching out her locker." The Combat Instructor told him.

"Can't number how many times that happened to me," Naruto admitted as he looked at Ozpin. "So, you wanted to show me around the campus?"

"In a moment," Ozpin replied as he motioned for Naruto to sit in front of him.

The blonde walked over to the seat, sitting down. Ozpin pushed a cup of cocoa over, smiling. Naruto took it, sipping on the contents, finding that it was sweeter than any other cocoa he had drunk before. Looking at the thick, creamy, texture of the piping hot drink he saw where it was still bubbling slightly. It was freshly made, even though Ozpin had been sitting there waiting for him.

Ozpin took a deep breath, "I'm not going to lie to you, Mr. Uzumaki. You are being brought into the fold, those people we fought at the docks aren't normal people. I suspect you are not a normal person either."

"So, I've been told," the young blonde replied. "This _fold_ you are talking about. Not many people know it, don't they?"

"No, they don't. My circle is few but powerful. Every Huntsman Academy Headmaster and their future successor are a part of it. Ms. Goodwitch, for example, was sworn in by me when I took this office. While we train people to kill Grimm. The few, in my circle, seek to find a way to permanently stop them. However, as you heard that one-person shout, there is a leader amongst them." Ozpin reached down as he spoke, grabbing a photograph. "That person has been around for many millennia."

This photograph seemed to have been taken from a distance, as it was slightly grainy. It, however, still had the effect that the blonde didn't see coming. Naruto's blood ran cold when Ozpin held the photograph up. The woman on the photograph was very much demonic in appearance. She had red eyes with slitted pupils, with black sclera making those irises shine. Her hair was in an ornate dressing, with six fixings.

Her face, angular, reminded him of the Goddess he had fought nearly a year ago. The blonde looked deeper into the photo, finding that seemed to be communicating with The Grimm around her as if instructing them.

"This was taken a few weeks before The Fall of Mountain Glenn. A city project that would've expanded Vale's living space, but sadly, it didn't pan out. This was about twenty years ago, hundreds of people died, and we lost several squads of veteran Huntsmen. The problem is, with very little intel, we've no idea how she coordinated The Grimm around the automated defenses." Ozpin revealed, leaning back into his chair.

"The panic was great, Vale itself was thrown into chaos for a time. All automated defenses were upgraded, android soldiers refurbished, and a new urban combat program initiated for new Huntsman. The issue remains, unfortunately, that the woman in the photograph still had help from the inside." Glynda took a seat beside Naruto, explaining the woman further.

The silver-haired man nodded, "Salem, an insidious woman. Her main goal is power, the power that comes in the form of pieces left behind by The Twin Gods."

"Wait, pieces, as in…?" Naruto questioned, watching as Ozpin got an old parchment.

The parchment was unfurled, revealing the objects. A sword, brush, lamp, and crown. Each of them was listed in order. Destruction, creation, knowledge, and choice were the names of the relics. The blonde took the parchment, reading over it. It stated that with all four together The Gods would return. Something, somewhere, didn't seem right to him. He didn't show it, not wanting to arise suspicion, but he wasn't too thrilled about old Gods returning.

Something he had a very personal experience with.

"She's after these," Ozpin explained as he took the parchment back, "And with them, she aims to shape the world to her will. If she has little care for human life, imagine what it would be like if she gains the ultimate power?"

"It would be the genocide of almost every Faunus and human at best," Naruto realized while speaking to Ozpin, "And total extinction of everything else at worse."

"Exactly," The Headmaster of Beacon concurred. "Though, there are other things at work. Your entry my circle comes with a price my young friend, that price is simple."

The man reached into desk, pulling out some paperwork. On the paperwork was a list of names, dossiers, and such. Sliding them across the desk, Ozpin gauged Naruto's reaction based on the dossiers he skimmed over as he had handed him. Each of them contained information on criminal organizations and leaders. Their roles in politics, if applicable, and even close contacts. This information was no different than the ones he'd get before a mission, perhaps this world's Huntsmen were truly no different from Shinobi.

Glynda interjected before Naruto could assume anything, "Don't get the wrong idea. We're not in the business of bloodshed, we simply need to capture some of these people for interrogations."

"Good," Naruto sighed in relief, "Because I don't like killing."

Ozpin took note of that, taking the dossiers back, "It shouldn't be too difficult for you. I did the same with Qrow…"

"Wait," Naruto crossed his arms as he interrupted him, "Qrow is a part of this little circle?"

The silver-haired man nodded, "Yes."

"Interesting," the young blonde murmured as he looked at Ozpin. "What do you want to know about me?"

"Magic, were you born with it?" The Headmaster inquired, still believing that Naruto's Jutsu was magic.

"If by magic, you mean what I did, then yes. I was born with it," Naruto leaned back as he answered.

"Interesting answer," Ozpin looked at him in the eye, "Do you have an agenda for doing what you do?"

"I just believe in keeping my word, and that innocent people don't deserve to be in pain. I really need to ask you, what am I to you?" Naruto inquired, taking another sip of his cocoa.

"The same as Glynda and the others are, an ally." Ozpin crossed his legs, twiddling with his cane.

Naruto chuckled, "Well, maybe that makes two of us."

Glynda took notice of Naruto's shaking hand that wasn't on the mug. It jittered a little bit here and there, his fingers twitching ever so slightly. The young man's, and older man's, talk continued forward. She noticed a cold sweat on his face, he seemed to be slightly paler than when they met at the restaurant.

Finishing his cocoa, Naruto groaned a little, "Man, this is some good hot chocolate?"

"It is the greatest, isn't it? So, Mr. Uzumaki, as you are expecting to join us, I must warn you. You can never tell anyone about this circle, each member has a code each other's scroll, where they cannot be blocked. Glynda Goodwitch and I took the leisure of applying that code at the restaurant. Also, as a member, you're permitted on school grounds. I have feeling that somewhere, at some time, a student or students may not be who they say they are. In which case, you have to do your best to protect our students here." Ozpin took a breath, and finished with a smile, "You're going to be given a dividend for living expenses."

"How much are we talking?" Naruto inquired.

Ozpin smiled, "About four hundred liens per week. Enough to afford a nice apartment somewhere in the city, along with gear if you need it."

Glynda got up from her seat as she felt her scroll buzz. She looked at the contact, it read _Qrow_ , which made her grumble.

"Yes?" She answered.

 _"Glynda, we may have a problem here. I just took the liberty of tracking that Grimm horde that was heading to Sumire. It changed direction, its heading for Mountain Glenn, just without explanation. I think it might be her, I'm going to follow them. If the worst happens, well, you know where my will is…"_ Qrow sounded frantic, she could hear the loud roaring in the background.

"Qrow, disengage, and head back toward Vale City," Glynda ordered him.

He laughed over the call, _"Aw c'mon Glyn, you act like you actually care. I'll keep in touch, but just in case, I'll send you my coordinates every hour. If I don't send them after two hours, then start praying."_

Glynda grew flustered, nearly yelling as she ordered him. "Qrow, this is a direct order, do not…and he hung up on me…"

Ozpin looked over Naruto's shoulder, "Is everything alright?"

"Not really, Qrow is going AWOL again on a mission. A horde that was previously heading for Sumire has changed direction and is heading toward Mountain Glenn. For no reason apparently, the horde is now traveling in the complete opposite direction. However, we know better, it may very well be that Salem is in our backyard as we speak." Glynda explained the situation to Ozpin, putting her scroll up in the process.

"She's never come this far out before…" Ozpin was bewildered as he spoke aloud.

He got up from his seat, "Mr. Uzumaki, as you are aware, we deal in defending against Salem. The Witch, as we all call her, may be in our backward. You have a mission, and that mission is to link up with Qrow Brawen, and make sure he returns to us alive."

"When do I leave?" Naruto inquired as he got up from the chair.

Ozpin looked him dead in the eye, "immediately."

* * *

 _(Hi Everyone, so I hope you're enjoying the story. Anyway, the next chapter will be awesome, and slightly longer than previous chapters have been *save for the prologue…maybe…* and I just want to take the time and tell you that Primrose won the vote. So, until this story is completed, none of my other stories will become updated._

 _If you love this story, please, don't be scared to put your input into it. Season One is getting ready to be over, and we'll move into Season Two shortly after. Hopefully I got the RWBY characters down pat, because I want a more natural feel to the flow of the story than last time._

 _Screaming Sun, as of right now, is on notice because I kind of wrote myself into a corner with it. It's me being candid and honest with you. I love you guys, and I'll see you all in the next chapter._

 _Blaze/Chris._

 _P.S HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA, MY BEAUTIFUL HOMELAND!_

 _May the beer flow responsibly.  
May you explode things carefully.  
And, may we raise a salute to those that fight for what we have here now. _

_God bless.)_


	12. Season One Episode Twelve: Bird and Fox

_(Should I create an original theme song for Naruto? I mean like lyrics wise, because I'm listening to Red Like Roses, crazily nowadays.)_

* * *

Naruto was going through the outer forests of Vale. Like a shadow, he hopped and ran through the trees. The baleful moonlight above was spotty, frequent bursts of rain showers would blanket the area every so often. Fresh mud covered the forest foliage under the trees. If one was silent enough, frogs would be doing their mating calls near this large ponds and creeks.

Prior to leaving, Ozpin had set up his scroll to track Qrow's. That had been an hour ago, and Qrow had sent his coordinates, putting him about four hours away according to Ozpin. Naruto felt that he needed to close that distance sooner and propelled himself through the trees like a madman. His Sage Mode eyes blazing, the more he could sense the blank spots in his vision from being able to sense life energy, the less time he'd spent playing cleanup crew.

He didn't know the man well, but if Glynda's worry was sound, then Qrow was probably going to throw himself into trouble. Ozpin seemed adamant about testing him with this. The red-eyed Huntsman seemed to have a reputation with getting into trouble. Hopefully, for all parties involved, Naruto made it to him before he could get into more trouble.

* * *

Ozpin was sitting in his office, tapping his fingers. Hot cocoa laid on the mahogany, on a coaster in the visage of the Valian flag. He took a deep breath, looking at his book of fables. The faintest echoes of children's laughter and awe-filled his mind, a memory of a bygone life, long distanced from himself. Taken to reading a verse, Ozpin coughed into his hand before reading aloud.

"Forge thy flame with a will, burn with fires of red and yellow, casting a brilliant orange sun. For thy mind, soul, and body must be one. We follow in the footsteps of an ancestor race, one of which came before, and will come after. They are balance, given material form, and the use of nature is forever their norm." Ozpin read aloud, turning the page.

A sound of footsteps broke him from his reading. He looked up to see Glynda, who had her scroll in her hand. It had been two hours since Naruto left, and despite being told to report in like Qrow, he hadn't. it worried her, and she hadn't been able to sleep more than a half-hour at best due to the stress.

Glynda voices her frustration, her knuckles white around her scroll, "That new person isn't reporting in."

"Oh?" Ozpin hummed as he read the fable book to himself.

"Are you even listening," She stated rather than asked, walking closer toward him.

"I am," Ozpin flipped the page, "As I always shall be."

"If Mr. Uzumaki fails to report in, is it possible that he may have run into another horde?" Goodwitch inquired, hoping that they hadn't just sent someone to their death.

"I highly doubt that we have to worry about Uzumaki," Ozpin closed the fable book while answering her. "There is no reason to believe that he's incapable to handle himself."

"Mr. Uzumaki may have magic Ozpin, but that doesn't make it you invincible, Amber is the best example of that…" Glynda bitterly retorted, sour over the loss of her prized student.

Ozpin nodded, sighing, "While that is true…I feel as though I'm missing some context when it comes to Uzumaki's abilities."

"Meaning?" The blonde woman huffed.

"Meaning that it may not be magical, as he claims, which deepens his mystery. However, as far as being a plant by Salem, I highly doubt it." Ozpin got up from his chair while talking to Glynda. "Trust me, I thought that at first as well."

"Then why allow him in?" Glynda inquired, concerned.

Ozpin sighed, "I felt compelled to trust him."

He looked at the sporadic storm building outside, "Tell me, Glynda, what do you know of The Old World?"

* * *

Qrow stalked through the forest, in his bird form, he blended perfectly with the local fauna of crows and other Aves. The red-eyed Qrow, fluttering his small wings, dashed through the various dead trees. Night, often a reprise for many in the city, was the time that the veteran Huntsman knew would be most dangerous. Beringels, Beowolfs, even a King Taijitu led in this horde, and it wasn't even counting the obvious Alphas somewhere amongst the ranks of the demonic creature nightly horde. Landing on a tree, obscured by leaves, Qrow transforms back into human form.

 _'This horde is probably the fourth largest horde I've ever seen, I lost count at about fifty Grimm. Shit, if this is heading toward Vale City, there might other hordes moving as well. Mountain Glenn is definitely the place, it has tons of Grimm inside of it, and with them heading to the place…she must be there as well.'_ Qrow observed, watching as a Nevermore flew over him. The beast flew high into the sky, dodging a bolt of lightning as it flew higher and higher.

Rain began to fall as the clouds gave way to thunder and lightning. Qrow pulled out his scroll, he was about fifty miles outside of Mountain Glenn now, and he tapped in his coordinates. Leaning against the tree, sliding down, the man watched as the rain continued to fall. He remembered this type of weather, in Mistral, twelve years ago. The day, the world stopped, their world stopped.

His partner at the time, his best friend, went on a mission with him. Years prior they had been on the same team, learned together, and fought together. They were brother and sister, and the thought of her made him pull out his flask, he took a swig of it. Inside of his left coat pocket was a photograph, of a family. A rosette woman was holding a bundle in a red blanket, a younger blonde girl stood in front of a blonde man. He had taken a photo, a year before it all went to hell. Taiyang, the blonde man, didn't have a taste for alcohol until that day.

It took him a while to get off the bottle, but Qrow, Qrow couldn't stop blaming himself for it. It all had happened so fast, spiraling out of control, with no recourse. The same kind of weather, nearly the same sized horde, and him thinking about family. His will was simple enough to where his weapon would go to his niece, and any money he had would toward Taiyang. Raising two beautiful young women was hard, mentally and financially, at least in the end he could something to help.

Then again, another side to the story remained. One where a swing and prayer may fell the head of the snake. Finishing the contents of the flasks, Qrow got up, transforming into his bird form. Fluttering his winds, he began to fly, only for the winds to suddenly pick up. He squawked curses under his breath, floating down toward another nearby tree, transforming back into his human form. Cursing under his breath, he began to stay in the trees, and behind the horde.

Leaping over small gaps in the canopy, the red-eyed Huntsman hurdled over a large branch. He kept his hand on the handle of Harbinger. Somersaulting over a falling behind Beowolf, in one swift motion, he cuts its head off. Intent to keep himself hidden, Qrow transformed into his bird form to hide in some bushes as several Beowolf came to investigate.

The raven-haired Huntsman in bird form flew out of the bushes and toward the trees. This horde was going to be tricky to track, but he kept his coordinates on an open channel. The warning would at least let people know if they were in the path of this massive horde. However, when he least needed it too, his semblance kicked in. Transforming into human form his sudden weight on a branch made it snap. This attracted the attention of the Beowolfs which howled.

That howling drew the horde!

Qrow grimaced, "Ah fuck…"

He hopped down, making Harbinger transform into gun mode. He started firing randomly into approaching, all the while backing up. Keeping them at least fifty feet away, the Huntsman made short work of the basic types that came for him. This was going south as he saw the other forces of the horde slowly doubling back. Blasting the last Beowolf near him, he turned on his heel and began to run away as fast possible.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, goddamn stupid semblance!" Qrow spat aloud, hopping over a downed tree.

He tackled the ground as Beringel slung itself over him, barely missing him. turning Harbinger into its sword mode, Qrow parried a punch made by massive Grimm and sliced its body in half as a result. Turning around, he threw a canister of dust he had in the back of his utility belt. As the canister started to fall back, Qrow's red eyes began to glow as his aura screamed to life around him. Slicing a Creeper, that came running out at him, in half. He opened the canister port for Harbinger's gun mode and loaded the Electric Dust into it.

Backflipping to avoid another Beringel, he landed on a tree branch that barely held him. He transformed Harbinger into its gun mode before firing DCR (Dust Charged Round) into the wet ground below. Electricity poured out from the round's impact, causing a stunning effect among the Grimm on the ground. It allowed Qrow to start taking headshots wherever he could, so long as they kept stunned. A Beringel broke free of the electricity, leaping straight at him, to which he replied with a bullet in between its eyes.

Jumping off the branch as the electricity died down, Qrow backstepped out an Alpha Beowolf's lunge. He transformed Harbinger into its scythe mode, its blade crackling with electricity! The man spun on his heel and turned his whole body into delivering an upward slice that cut the Alpha in half vertically. He breathed hard, gazing upon his blind spots whenever he could as he moved back.

 _'Easy…easy…'_ Qrow calmed himself, putting Harbinger up as he turned around to run.

The other parts of the horde were probably too far away to directly engage him. they kept moving, while the lesser elements stayed behind. He thought for sure they all were coming, but he breathed a sigh of relief when they didn't. it seemed like Qrow Brawen would keep his head today.

Taking stock, down a canister, the veteran Huntsman rested the staff of Harbinger on his shoulder. He looked over toward a rose bush, surprised to see something bloom here.

 _'Still looking out for me, Summer? Ah, well now, I did say that I'd help Tai take care of the kids.'_ Qrow frowned as he thought, he walked toward the rose bush, _'Need a little bit more luck from ya, if you don't mind Short-Stack.'_

 _'Just a little bit more luck…and I can go home to see Ruby again…'_

The man then heard the crashing of a tree, his unfocused mind left one of his blind spots open. His body fell to the ground as the tree smacked into him, hard, pinning him to the ground. He saw a large Grimm, with bone armor all over it, with four red eyes glaring down at him. It stepped its foot onto him, standing at least fifteen feet tall, it dwarfed the man below. Qrow struggled, reaching for Harbinger which had been knocked out of his grip, he looked up at the Ogre Grimm as it raised its foot up above his head.

He wouldn't scream, not giving it whatever satisfaction, it could gain out of this. However, just before it stumped down, the man watched as a tri-bladed knife flew right under its foot. A sudden flash of yellow blinds him, but in the process, he felt someone grip his arm. Then, almost instantly, he felt the weight of the tree lifted off him as he ended appearing out of another flash as the kunai impacted the tree with a loud thunk.

The flash in his eyes starting to go away, he looked up to see a blonde clad in a black and orange tracksuit. It dawned upon him who it was when the person looked down to check on him. The teen in front of him gave a two-finger salute, pulling his kunai out of the tree. Qrow watched him as the blonde adjusted his gloves. The golden irises of the teen shined in the darkness, orange pigment around his eyes seemingly glowed in the night.

The Ogre Grimm roared, thrashing about with its four arms, but the teen was undeterred as he continued walking forward. Flipping the kunai up, The Ogre grabbed the tree, slamming it toward the golden-eyed Shinobi who just disappeared into a yellow flash. Appearing just above the tree from where the kunai was, he formed a blue sphere in his free hand that he then exploded outward. The force of the shockwave sent a beamlike blast into the giant Grimm.

It collapsed to its knees, holding the hole in its chest, allowing the blonde to run up it. Cocking his fist back, giving a mighty roar, the teen slammed the punch forward. Amplified by natural energy, the punch was strong enough to tear the head of the beast. A wet, squelching noise sounded over the rain as the head of the Grimm flew off. It turned into a black dust cloud soon afterward, allowing Qrow's savior to take a deep breath.

"Oh man, I really owe you a drink…" The Veteran Huntsman stated, laying his head on the ground.

"Heh," the teen walked over and helped him up, "Sup?"

"Nothing much Naruto, killing Grimm, miles away civilization…you know…the fun stuff." He replied with a yawn afterward, rubbing his injured arm in the process.

He walked over to Harbinger, picking up his weapon, and setting it to gun-mode. He checked his ammo, the canister inside of it full of dust still. He nodded to himself, readying, just in case the other parts of the horde came along their way. Naruto for his part kept Sage Mode up, standing still long enough to keep refilling the Natural Chakra he needed. Red eyes moved in the forest in front of them, the shattered moon shining baleful light upon creatures of the night.

Naruto stood side by side with Qrow, and took a deep breath, "They're coming."

"Seriously," Qrow sighed as he readied himself. "You can handle this right?"

"Definitely, can you keep up old man?" Naruto inquired, jokingly as he tossed a kunai over to him. "Keep that on you, it'll allow me to teleport to you."

"Right," Qrow pocketed the blade. "There might be a Grimm in the air above us or two, I was kind of hoping to follow them back to Mountain Glenn…"

"Screw that," Naruto spat as he tossed the kunai into his left hand. "You're not gonna go on a suicide march. I just came from that general direction; another Grimm horde was in front of this one."

"Was?" Qrow questioned, surprised by past tense.

Clicking his tongue, the Shinobi saw red eyes in the tree line dart in front of them. "They might be a little bit pissed off."

"Fuck 'em, we're gonna rip and tear." Qrow readied Harbinger's scythe mode, "Until either they or we, fall!"

"Hell yeah," Naruto got another kunai out, "Get ready Qrow!"

The first packs of Beowolf crashed through the trees, with Naruto and Qrow charging forward. The veteran Huntsman sliced the first Beowolf to reach them in half. Naruto sliced through two of them using Wind Chakra coming from his blade. Jumping up, meeting an Alpha midair, Naruto crashed the back of his foot against the beast's head. The beast's head exploded on impact, turning it into black dust. Landing in the mud, hands first, he spun on his palm to angle himself so he could deliver a kick into an incoming Beowolf.

The Beowolf crashed into the mud, sliding across it before Naruto landed on top of it. Using the beast as a makeshift board, Naruto road it across the mud, propelling himself with wind chakra before kick-flipping it into another group of Beowolfs before forming one-handed hand seals. As the small pack of Beowolfs lunge at him when he landed, they were met with a concussive blast of wind from his free hand. Easily deflecting a claw slash from another Beowolf, Naruto jumped up and kicked it in the side.

Getting sent over toward Qrow, the man slashes the beast in half as he killed another in the same swing. He jumped forward, gripping his scythe's staff with both hands, giving out a loud war cry. Slashing downward, aura flowing off the weapon and himself, the Beringel fell in two pieces bursting into black dust. Turning his body, Qrow then bats one toward Naruto, the blonde slashed it in half as they continued to walk forward.

Naruto jumped back to avoid a Beringel before countering with a leaping punch. His fist smashed right through the head of the Beringel, its black matter flew into pieces across the area before turning into black dust. The dust was used as a cover for a Creeper that leaped out, mouth wide open to take Naruto's head. As its teeth closed, they shattered across Naruto's Nature Energy enhanced skin. Prying the beast's jaw apart, Naruto ripped it in half before throwing parts away with a war cry.

Kicking upward, the Natural Energy force of the kick sent a couple of Beringels into the air. Qrow turned toward Naruto, stunned at the power the younger man was displaying. He saw the golden irises, much different than his ocean blues, shining in the darkness. Like a beacon of hope they gleamed, he smirked, jumping up and slashing the beasts in half before switching Harbinger into gun-mode and landing behind him.

He shoots at several Creeps as they ran along the treeline. He managed to nail several in the head, but his injured arm made him wince between each firing. Naruto blocked a claw slash from Beowolf by putting himself between Qrow and it. The claws ripped through his clothing, exposing his mid-drift. Qrow turned on his heel, shoving the barrel of the gun-mode Harbinger into its mouth and squeezed the trigger. Its head exploded into droplets of red and black matter before it turned into black dust.

Naruto growled while stripping his compromised upper clothing off, "Damn it that was my last tracksuit…"

"Deathstalker on your three o'clock!" Qrow called out, making Naruto turn around as he finished taking off his upper clothing.

The Deathstalker's stinger slammed forward, but Naruto caught it. Jumping up, Naruto twisted his body to use the Deathstalker as an oversized mace, slamming it into smaller Grimm below. The red-eyed Huntsman felt the ground shake from the impact. Watching as Grimm started to focus more and more on Naruto. The blonde slung the Deathstalker into more and more Grimm before tossing it up. He spun around once, sending a sharp wave air up that sliced the beast in half.

Elbowing a Beringel that tried to tackle him, the added force of Nature Chakra caved the beast's face in. Naruto launched the beast back, killing it instantly as it slammed into several trees, knocking them over. Roaring out the blonde lunged forward, smashing a kick into another Beringel, caving its chest in. Landing on the ground, the blonde backflipped just enough to dodge a few barbed feathers that had been launched toward him.

A Nevermore flew down from the clouds, nearly grabbing Naruto. The Shinobi dodged out of the way in the last second, slashing the air in front of him, trying to cut the beast down. It was nimble, smart enough as well, to dodge the shifting blades of wind. Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling something bite into his thigh. He looked down to see a Beowolf trying to bite his leg off, but its teeth shattered against his thigh due to the Natural Energy coursing through him. Turning around, Naruto smashed his fist down into its body, splitting it in half!

The Veteran saw Naruto breathing hard, moving toward him while switching Harbinger back into scythe-mode. He cut down several charging Creeps, dodging around the blonde, and even transforming in and out of his bird form to dodge around the young man. Qrow transformed one last time, appearing behind Naruto and slashing upward. Cutting up a Beowolf Alpha as it tried to leap on the exhausted blonde, who stood perfectly still.

"You good?!" He yelled at The Shinobi.

Naruto's eyes flared with power, "Never better…"

Qrow slashed the head off another Beowolf, looking up as two Nevermore circled above them. He turned Harbinger into gun-mode before launching a volley of fire upward. Naruto appeared behind him, both dancing around each other and killing Grimm left and right. They were in perfect sync, with Qrow jumping up in time for Naruto to kick him higher into the air. Firing round after round downward, spraying a load of destruction across his view, Qrow switched Harbinger back in scythe-mode and deflected several feathers that had been heading toward them.

Breathing hard, Naruto slammed a punch into another Beowolf before stabbing it through the throat. Slicing its head off, he stumbled forward but used the moment to sink a kunai into the Creep's skull, killing it instantly as it charged into him. Getting knocked down into the mud, Naruto launched a kick backward, catching another Creep by surprise as the force kicked its skull in.

Qrow launched himself toward Naruto, slicing another Creep in half, letting the blonde get up. "Getting tired, shorty?!"

"That was a lucky shot and you know it, stay close to me!" Naruto shouted as he stood up, weaving hand seals.

Slamming his hand into the mud, the winds suddenly started to swirl around them. The Huntsman's eyes widened as the clouds started to form a funnel above them. The funnel hung directly over them, forming a vortex around them both. Qrow was grabbed by Naruto, keeping him from getting blown away. He watched as the Nevermore got sucked into the vortex as well.

"Time to end this," Naruto clapped his hands together. _'Fūton: Tatsumaki No Jutsu!'_

His Sage Mode ran out, making his eyes turn blue. Collapsing down, he watched as the Nevermore fell to the ground. Their wings twisted and broken, sliced apart from the rapid winds above. Qrow ran over to them, slicing their heads off with ease. All around them, any tree within three hundred yards was stripped bear of greenery. Breathing hard, he turned to see Naruto, who was struggling to stand up.

The teen's bare chest and abdomen exposed, glistening with rain that slowly stopped falling. Collapsing to a knee in the mud, the blonde looked at the red-eyed Huntsman with a smirk. Qrow, himself, was breathing hard as shuffled over to Naruto. He formed Harbinger back into its normal form, placing it on a magnetic part of his utility mode.

"What the hell was that," Qrow breathed out as he stood above Naruto.

"That," Naruto replied with a cocky smirk, "Is a long story…"

"Tch, dumbass, you nearly got yourself killed coming after me. I'm old, you're young, shit man…" The Veteran Huntsman helped the blonde up. "I'm not seeing anymore Grimm, killed them all I guess."

"You better be lucky I'm so fast," the blonde stated as he got up on his feet. "If not, you'd been a cooked bird."

Patting the blonde's shoulder, Qrow rolled his eyes, "Guess you're in then?"

"You think?" Naruto questioned with a laugh.

"Still though, Grimm Hordes just don't turn around for anything." The older man spoke to the Shinobi. "We need to figure out why, and the only way I can figure out why is Mountain Glenn."

* * *

Salem watched as The Dark Flower tendrils lurched down, stabbing into Matatabi's back. They began to pump into her the black sludge from the lake above, she thrashed about, restrained by the chakra absorbing tendrils. Her eyes started to turn red, she looked over at Chomei. He was struggling to maintain himself as demonic wings began to form on his back to replace the ones he had lost. Over half his body had turned black, with his shell turning white in the process.

 **"What…are you doing to…us?!"** Matatabi yelled out in pain.

She stood there, watching the Bijuu struggle, "Please. Don't take it so personally, honestly, if I knew you'd join my side willingly there would be no need for this."

 **"Liar…"** Matatabi struggled through the pain.

"I am many things, but a liar? That is something I've yet to be. I'm just not foolish enough to take your words into consideration because your loyalties will always lay within Uzumaki Naruto." Salem replied curtly and walked up to the great beast of blue flames that were turning black.

Matatabi responded by bathing her in blue flames, surprising Salem. The woman was engulfed in the flames, her shadow disappearing from the light. Matatabi smirked, triumph turned to shock as the flames died down, and slowly a light emerged. That light began to reform Salem, who merely flexed her right palm. The Bijuu was stunned silent, this was impossible to comprehend, very few people she knew had complete immortality.

The Queen of The Dark Lands sighed, "Do not think I enforce this upon my own will. I am forever punished for the sins that I supposedly committed. Uncaring Gods, with no concept of love, punished me long ago for not wanting to give up my precious thing in the world."

"They torment with this, every day, and The Dark God hath mocked me further with this appearance. I am a Demoness, as my mother was before me, her fairy tales were truth and reality was a lie." Salem turned her back to Matatabi, who was stunned silent still.

The Queen took a deep breath, "I pity you, and I pity the boy that you follow. We're all toys in a grand game without end, the cycle shall continue to tick onward, despite our sadness."

 **"Your mother, it couldn't be…there's no way…"** Matatabi realized something but didn't want to say it aloud.

"Do you want to know why I must do this to you? This immortal body is a double-edged sword for The Gods. They may use it to mock me, to make sure I know I could never have my children back, to become the monster in this little tale. However, it is the perfect vessel for power equal to theirs, and that is what they forgot…" Salem began to walk away.

Matatabi struggled more, **"Why do you tell me this?"**

"Because," Salem hid her face from Matatabi, "I find it only right. As I said before, I'm not a liar, you may take this information as you will. Granted, you'll probably won't last as long as Chomei over there."

Matatabi knew she was right, her will was fading quickly, **"I pity you…"**

The Queen of The Dark Lands sighed, walking away, "For that kindness, I ask that you understand…"

"My rage is never-ending, not until the Gods pay for, they've wrought…"

The grand doors to The Dark Flower's room closed behind Salem. Matatabi looked toward Chomei, who was struggling all the same. She felt her power to fight to begin fading fast, she knew what this flower belonged too, and it would only be a matter of time before they both succumbed to this. The dark sludge traveled more and more, into her body. Her flames becoming jet black along her forelimbs and tails.

 **"Matatabi, fight it!"  
"I can't…Chomei…"  
"Kurama will find us!"  
"KURAMA IS NOT COMING!" **

Both looked at one another, Matatabi looked down on the ground, **"Father…please help us…"**

 **"The very Gods she spoke of are the ones that came with them, I know we'll find a way to beat this!"** Chomei yelled, struggling as more of himself started to turn Grimm. **"Father will find…him…"**

 **"Chomei,"** Matatabi glared at him, **"Father hasn't told Naruto the truth yet…"**

 **"Damn it all, why is keeping him away from us?"** Chomei breathed hard, guttering a growl. **"I will not end like this. We can power through this!"**

Matatabi roared, the power of it shook the room.

In her throne room, Salem sat upon the throne. She sipped a glass of wine, crossing her legs as she looked up at portrait she recently had made. It was of a blonde-haired man, with green eyes. He was holding a blonde-haired baby, wrapped in a pink blanket, but standing beside him was a woman with ashen hair and lavender eyes.

 _'Pity me they will, but with your power mother, I know we'll have our long due vengeance.'_ Salem finished her wine, dissolving the glass with magic.

She took a deep breath, and thought about it, _'If they pity me…perhaps one or two may agree with me. Maybe just maybe, Naruto will as well.'_

Giving a dark chuckle, she looked at a mural of a figure standing in the center of Eight Tailed Beasts, with a ninth standing with him in the center.

 _'All in due time…'_


	13. Season One Episode Thirteen: Dreams

_(All I have to say just be ready for wild ride, for very…very…wild ride. All I'm going to say is that pay attention to what Matatabi said, but also pay attention the following events. I just hope no one is turned off from this. Also, please go and give Rio Skyron some love people. His grandfather passed away a week ago, and I've been meaning to finish this up sooner rather than later. Sorry bud._

 _-Love Blaze/Chris!)_

* * *

Ozpin watched as the storm raged outside of his office. His arms behind his back, staring into the swirling rage of nature. Rain pelted the stain glass windows in his office, he noted that he felt some kind of pressure from the storm. Something was different with this one, it felt like unnatural. He glanced back at his desk, new reports from his local contacts within The Weather Survey Office reported that Mountain Glenn's neighboring mountains had a moving heat signature inside of them. The only explanation that they could come up with was a massive horde Grimm, none dared to think it is only one Grimm, otherwise, it would've been of titanic proportions. However, titanic, would've been best the usage of the third possibility.

He knew of Titan Grimm, Grimm so powerful that cities could fall if it wasn't for massive armies keeping them in check. He named the Grimms after demons, and two resided in Mountain Glenn's Mountain Range. The Fire Demon, Rodan, a Large Nevermore with flames hugging its entire body. Then there was also Kong, a Large Beringel Grimm that fought its own kind.

"Any word on Qrow?" Glynda inquired.

"Mr. Uzumaki managed to rescue him from a horde, but he's banged up. The hordes are on the move, but I have a feeling that our newest member will make quick of them." Ozpin took a deep breath, "However, The Titan Grimm are stirring due to the heat signature."

"I see…should I inform the council on your behalf?" Glynda asked, concerned over Vale being close to the edge of battle.

"Not yet," Ozpin replied as he turned back toward the window. "I have a feeling we're not going to need it."

* * *

"Okay," Qrow sighed as he looked at his scroll's map. "The Hordes seem to be all heading here."

Naruto, crouched besides Qrow in a cave, frowned. The hordes were all converging on a mountain just outside of where Mountain Glenn was. Faulty intel almost threw them off the trail, but luckily his clones had managed to set them back on course. Morning would be coming in an hour, with the rain still going strong, the blonde had decided to set up shop in a nearby cave from where they had their battle.

Qrow's jacket and shirt were off to the side, the man was shirtless, with bruising on his midsection from the tree falling on him. The weird magic Naruto did to him was allowing his aura to increase its healing, but it came at the cost of making him drowsy. He watched as Naruto stood straight up, watching the storm increase in intensity. At least there wouldn't be any Nevermore to worry about in these conditions, Qrow knew that they'd prefer to hunt in much clearer weather.

Sighing, the red-eyed man looked at the teen, "This storm is getting worse."

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed as he watched a tree below them topple over. "I'm not going to lie to you, Qrow, I think its best if I do this on my own."

"You're powerful, but you'll get killed." The man warned, "We should wait for the storm to pass."

"No," Naruto rebuked with a frown. "This storm isn't natural; something is causing it."

"Now that you mentioned it, I kind of feel it too. Man, this entire thing is fucked…" Qrow complained, taking a swig from his flask, holding it out toward Naruto. "You might want some of this."

"I'm fine," Naruto declined. "I'm trying to stay away from it."

"Ah, yeah, I can tell…your arm has been shaking nonstop." Qrow pointed out, watching as Naruto looked his right hand that had been shaking.

Biting his lip, the blonde thought about all the symptoms he had been feeling lately. Having suppressed them with chakra, the symptoms only got worse. He threw up just an hour ago during cold chills and shook violently while taking a nap. Reluctantly, Naruto walked over and took the flask, throwing back his head while swallowing some of its contents.

Handing it back to Qrow, the heat of the alcohol flooded his body. Naruto took a deep breath, going over toward the small fire he had made when the man was asleep. Holding his hand out, focusing chakra into and changing its nature, he creates a small sphere of water. Dipping his to the side, the sphere of water flows and extinguishes the fire.

The Brawen looked at the boy, "Since you're a part of our circle now, mind telling me how you do that?"

"Like you said before, magic, poof." Naruto cheekily made a small fire appear in his hand.

"Smartass blondes," Qrow grumbled as he got up. "Still, we need to get to that mountain."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "However, I think you need to head back to Vale City. You're internally injured, if I find anything, I'll take pictures."

Qrow rolled his eyes, "And mail them in a postcard?"

"More like," Naruto yawns mid-sentence, "Hand delivered."

"Alright kid," Qrow relented. "I'll head back and report Oz on what we found. Don't get killed out there, kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh?" Naruto inquired, confused.

"It's a phrase," Qrow answered. "I got a long walk ahead of me, throw me my jacket."

Naruto reached down, grabbing Qrow's clothing, tossing it over to him. The Huntsman quickly put his shirt on, throwing his jacket on himself soon afterward. Grabbing Harbinger, checking over it, he noted a strange rune on the hilt. He looked at Naruto, who gave him a small smile.

"It's a seal for one of my techniques, the same my kunai had. It allows me to sense you, and if need be, teleport to you." Naruto answered as he walks toward the cave entrance.

Taking a deep breath, The Shinobi looked to The Huntsman, "Take care Qrow-san."

"San…heh, see you around, kid. Hey, by the way, if you ever want to tell me a secret or two, I'm good at keeping them." Qrow offers as he laid against the cave entrance.

Naruto thought about it, he sighed, "Maybe. You should wait for the storm to stop, so that way you fly back."

"That's the plan, genius, now get moving before I change my mind," Qrow said before resting his head on a rock.

Without much hesitation, Naruto bolted out of the cave, using his chakra to increase his speed and glide on the water puddles in his path.

* * *

The forests grew thicker nearer to Mountain Glenn and another mountain that Grimm was converging onto. Preparing for a fight, Naruto had gathered nearly enough nature chakra to enter Sage Mode on the fly if he needed too. Without Qrow being near him, he could cut loose, a rare golden opportunity to flex his power.

Sliding to a stop, Naruto felt that something was off. He looked around the forest, his senses alerting him to something. Almost out of nowhere a barrage black needles launched themselves from a tree line. Naruto saw gecko-like Grimm with a split jaw like a snake opened wide, revealing the source of the needles. It launched itself at the blonde, a spiked club on its tail clashed with his kunai.

Its hiss signaled another of its kind to fire several its needles toward Naruto from behind. Jumping up, Naruto sunk a kunai into the original's head by kicking it, and backflipped while twisting his body to avoid other needles. He saw a greenish liquid drip off one of them, an indication that they were poisoned. Landing in the mud, Naruto formed a couple of hand seals to manipulate his charka into Earth Chakra and slammed his right palm into the ground.

Almost immediately afterward a large spike of earth impaled the second Gecko-like Grimm, killing it instantly. Standing up, Naruto heard a loud crash of thunder as something shook the ground. Feeling the burning on his right palm, he looked at his now pulsing Sun Mark. Moving to where it pulsed quicken, the blonde noted that it pulsed more frequently when pointing at the nearby Mountain Glenn Mountain Range. Sighing, gathering himself, Naruto took a few steps forward before sprinting.

Dashing through trees, Naruto stopped on occasion to take out Grimm in his path. Falling on top of Beowolf, Naruto noted the shaking got worse as he neared the mountain. Suddenly, from below, cracks began to form. Entering Sage Mode, Naruto noted a huge Dark Spot under him. Jumping up, the ground caved into as a cavern opened. A giant Beringel, standing about thirty meters tall, jumped out and landed in the forest. Trees shook, chains on its wrists jingled as it pounded its bone armored chest. Landing on the ground just in front of it, Naruto watched as the Grimm shook the rubble off its jet-black fur.

"Oh crap," Naruto mumbled as he readied himself. _'This thing is bigger than that Poseidon Cyclops thing I fought…'_

The giant ape-like Grimm pounded the ground with its palms before glaring down at Naruto. The blonde's golden eyes glared back, and he dropped into a fighting stance, ready to go. He didn't have to wait long. The Giant Beringel bellowed a war cry before launching itself at him. Naruto caught it by its outstretched hand's finger and proceeded to bellow his own war cry out before slamming it into the ground.

It rolled, flinging the blonde of his hand. Naruto twirled in the air, landing onto the side of a nearby rocky plateau. Using his chakra to stick the surface, the blonde formed a hand seal. Several puffs of smoke exploded behind him, and with the smoke distorting, several Narutos were launched toward the massive beast.

Two were smashed into the ground, as the third was munched on with its mouth, it exploded into smoke as well. Confused, the massive Beringel turned to the sound of a screech. It barely jumped out of the way of a Rasenshuriken, but the bladed ball of energy traveled along the cliff. Naruto smirked as he disappeared in smoke, revealing that he was a Kage Bunshin. Catching the Rasenshuriken, the original Naruto was about to launch it only turn around and slam it into a Nevermore that tried to sneak attack him. The Nevermore screeched as it was torn asunder, but as Naruto dropped, he used the sliced off wing to kick-off and launch himself toward the Giant Beringel.

Stumping down on its head, Naruto felt the creature absorb the impact through its bone armor. Springing off its head, Naruto landed behind it before using his enhanced strength to club the ground with both of his hands at the same time. Cracks began to form, webbing their way behind and in front of Naruto. The blonde smirked, watching as The Beringel charged at him, roaring as the ground gave way.

However, just before he went under, he slammed the ground with his own paw.

With the impact, the ground gave out, causing Naruto and The Giant Beringel to fall together. As pieces of rubble floated by him, Naruto's heightened reflexes seemed to slow down time, allowing him to jump from one piece to another. He was about to reach the exit, but he felt his senses scream at him to dodge! Listening to his instinct, Naruto twisted his body to avoid a sharp piece of rock being flung at him. His eyes widened as Kong, The Giant Beringel, launched itself upward. Its maw wide open to swallow him, and Naruto had no chance to dodge as it closed its mouth around him.

Landing on the ground above, on a more solid piece, The Giant Beringel suddenly screeched in pain as Naruto pushed its mouth open. Holding it up with one hand, Naruto used his right hand to form a Rasengan and slam it upward. It blasted part of the beast's face off and allowed him to escape. Twirling through the air as he landed on the ground, he brushed his jacket off.

The beast roared, thrashing about, in pain. With his victory secured, Naruto took a deep breath and held his right hand above his head. Gathering chakra from nature, Naruto's eyes changed to a more foxlike slit instead of the toad-like bars. Shining with golden power, briefly entering his Six Paths form. Naruto swayed with the wind as he finished gathering energy.

"This may be overkill, but I need to give this a trial run anyway," Naruto stated as he watched the beast quit thrashing and face him.

Holding his fists up, Naruto watched as the pounded its chest. It got ready to charge at Naruto, who merely cocked his right fist back. Opening it to form a highly condensed Rasengan with nature chakra. As the Giant Beringel charged at him, Naruto dodged to the left before jumping up above it. It turned around as its red eyes widened as a little blue ball of light suddenly grew huge. It screeched with energy as it quickly expands to the size of a small house. Twisting his body to deliver the attack, Naruto screamed out his attack.

"Senpō: Chōchōōdama Rasengan!"

The supermassive ball of energy collided with Kong. Its screams silenced for eternity as its body disintegrated underneath. However, Naruto didn't gauge his power properly and ended up creating a huge explosion. The ground caved in under the force, revealing a huge cavern system. With no way to manipulate his landing, Naruto landed on a pile of rubble inside of the cavern. However, it wasn't all that it appeared to be. Instead of just being the underside of a mountain, it appeared to be a temple of sorts.

Feeling around for anymore Grimm, Naruto found none and deactivated his Six Paths Sage Mode. Huffing as he fell to one knee, he still needed to practice it, or find a way to gather Bijuu chakra. He needed his friends to maintain the form more effectively, otherwise, it was just a quick burst of power for a finishing blow. However, with the drawbacks of Six Paths without the tailed beasts being extreme drainage of normal chakra to offset any true negative effects, his chakra was basically cut in half.

It was his glass cannon, for now.

However, before him was workings of mankind thought lost. The crumbling above, where he had breached into it, sent small chunks down toward him. Jumping away as a large boulder smashed into the ground where he had been. Rolling forward, he noted that the giant Beringel was the only Grimm he felt around this area. He knew that some Grimm were territorial, but they still worked together to kill a powerful enemy. The Nevermore that tried to kill him was happenstance, it just happened to be in the area. The fact that this giant Beringel was all alone, by itself, meant that something was unusual here.

"Man, my back hurts. Not used to taking such a fall," Naruto complained as he rubbed his sore back.

He noted a cold chill emanating from the manmade structure. Slowly, he walked toward it. Approaching the corridor, Naruto eyes widened tremendously at the presence of something he thought none would know. Walking toward, he saw it, Kanji. He looked at the Kanji, and what it displayed. Placing his hand on it, he moved back as it glowed a bright golden color. It seemed to trail along the wall as if pointing him somewhere.

Following the golden lighted Kanji, Naruto came toward a large cavern. Inside of the large cavern, he found what appeared to be ruined buildings. As if a massive battle had been fought down below, taking a deep breath, Naruto took out his scroll and began recording in its night vision feature. He felt like something was very wrong, that something was warning him away deep inside of him. However, even as mind told him to leave, his heart demanded that he stay.

Taking a leap of faith, Naruto jumped!

* * *

Qrow stumbled into Ozpin's office, "Yo, Oz…I went in over my head on that one."

"Qrow, my Gods, are you alright?" Ozpin inquired as he walked over toward Qrow.

"Yeah," Qrow reassured his leader and friend. "I'm fine, sober, but fine."

"What of Mr. Uzumaki?" Ozpin inquired further.

"He went on, on his own," The red-eyed Huntsman replied. "Kid's on a mission but can't say I blame him for sending me back here."

"We lost his scroll signal an hour ago," The Headmaster of Beacon revealed. "He's probably in one of the underground caverns, many are filled Grimm…many more uncharted."

Qrow sat down, breathing hard, "That storm is finally settling down."

"Yes," Ozpin confirmed as he looked toward the mountains. "It had died down a little…"

"You seem lost in your thoughts, Ozpin, car to share?" Qrow reached for his flask, noting that it was empty. "Shit, I was hoping a little bit more still was in there."

"You know, Qrow, it could be a sign for you go sober." The Headmaster jokingly offered.

The red-eyed Huntsman just chuckled, "Nah, think I'll pass on that…"

"What do you think of Mr. Uzumaki?" Ozpin inquired, taking a seat in front of Qrow.

"Kid's a badass, knows magic like you, and viola suddenly it's confirmed that seven people that can use magic exists." Qrow pointed out, and then thought of his charge, "Well…six…"

"Amber wasn't your fault," Ozpin reached for Qrow's shoulder.

"Get the fuck outta here with that, of course, it is, Glynda thinks it is anyway. I was shopping for some things she requested, she also wanted to be alone for a minute. She was young, beautiful, and now she's in a coma. Probably going to die, which is just great. Like I told you, Ozpin, I'm not fit to protect anyone." Qrow took a deep breath, "My semblance is a guaranteed death sentence to someone."

"Summer wasn't your fault either," Ozpin watched as Qrow got out of the chair. "Where are you going?"

"Going to find a place to get a drink," Qrow told Ozpin, "You're more than welcome to join me."

"I've led the life before, Qrow, it only leads down to self-destruction. Trust me," Ozpin sighed as he leaned back. "There's a reason why I drink hot cocoa all the time."

"Yeah, why?" Qrow asked half-heartedly.

Ozpin sighed, "Never mind, Qrow, continue what you're doing. Just remember, I have reset…you don't."

"Whatever," Qrow rolled his eyes as replied, "I'm out."

"Alright, oh, put in a call to that one pilot that owes you a favor," Ozpin ordered Qrow. "I have a feeling we might need him."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll give Jack a call." Qrow waived off Ozpin, "Night."

"Night, you're going to be out all night?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, and besides, Jack likes to meet in person," Qrow replied before walking out.

Ozpin sat there in his office, he looked at his cocoa, _'Daddy misses you, Ursula.'_

* * *

Naruto had been walking around what he could only describe as an underground city. It was ancient, the Kanji was mostly like his, but slightly different. Taking a deeper look into the facilities of this underground city, he passed up muddy yards dug into small shafts. Obviously, what amounted to as controlled farming. Walking toward one these shafts, he noted the presence of a lantern of sorts. Using the night vision on his scroll as a guide, Naruto found where a seal pattern began.

Reading it, it amounted to basically an on/off switch. So, without much ado, he placed his palm in the circle, twisting left to close the current of latent chakra he felt. Watching as suddenly lantern inside of the shaft lit up, and then another, and another. Suddenly, he felt his chakra being drained out, however, he pressed further into the circle.

More lights lit up around the underground city, he started to notice familiar Kanji. Kanji for Lightning, Earth, Mist, Leaf, and Sand. His eyes widened at a set of Kanji, this wasn't a normal city, but a colony. A joint effort, for unknown reasons, and Naruto felt something in his heart scream out to him. Whatever he had just found, he needed to know, he needed to KNOW!

He felt the chakra increasingly being drained from him. There was a feedback loop that was starting to happen, he saw where there were signs of a massive battle. Burnt rocks, crushed houses, and finally human bones became known to him.

There was also something else obvious, The Cavern City was large enough to hide a Bijuu if need be.

 _'I need to see what happens. Something is compelling me to do this!'_ Naruto screamed out as a burst chakra left his mark. "What kind of game is this, what is this, this shouldn't be here… **I NEED TO KNOW**!"

Immediately after the inward scream, a feedback loop hit him, blowing him backward. He slammed into several stone houses, the rubble collapsing around him. His eyes grew heavy, and soon, they closed. Slowly, he started to breathe calmly and fell asleep under the rubble. Calmly, his mind repeated the phrase that had started with the feedback loop.

 _'I need to know…'_

* * *

Waking up, Naruto shot out of a hospital bed, collapsing on the floor as soon as his legs touched it. Atrophy took hold of him and found himself pulling off plugs, and pulling an I.V out of his arm. A nurse rushed in, exclaiming profanities before joyously screaming to heavens before helping him up. Dusting him off, the nurse used light to check his eyesight.

"Sakura-San," The Nurse called. "Naruto-sama is awake!"

"What, when?!" Naruto heard a familiar voice yell before its owner walked into the room and dropped her clipboard.

Tears leaked from her eyes, she declared his name, "Naruto!"

"Huh, Sakura?!" Naruto was helped up into the bed by her while she gripped him in a bear hug, "What's going on?"

"Don't talk, just…just relax, alright? Please, you need to relax, you've been in a coma for the last year. Oh God, thank goodness you woke up," She wrapped her arms around him. "We've missed you, Baka."

She cried into his shoulder, he looked around, "So, what happened?"

"Sasuke took to the roads across the entire continent, he's due back any day now to check up on you. He's been training as the next Hokage. You were lost for about five months before you just suddenly popped back into existence about a year ago. Naruto, we thought you were dead, every bone in your body was broken when we got you." Sakura explained further, she whimpered, "We thought we were going to lose you when you just receded into a highly vegetative state."

"This doesn't feel right," Naruto said to her. "Sakura, I... this is going to sound so stupid, but I don't remember anything."

"It's fine Naruto, we're just glad to have you back here. Listen to me," she propped him up a little. "You are going to be fine, Kurama is back inside of you."

"Kurama…" Naruto closed his eyes, "Kurama?"

 ** _'Hehehe, took you long enough to wake up, dumbass.'_** Kurama, the nine-tailed fox, said within Naruto.

"Oh, this is so weird, I just…I swore…never mind. Wait, Hinata, where is Hinata?!" Naruto yells as he moved to grip his head.

"She's fine, Naruto, she's been every day since you were found. Figures that the day you wake up, is the day I finally convinced to go home and rest. It's going to take a while for the atrophy to wear off, but sooner or later, you'll up and walking around like nothing ever happened." Sakura told him as she pulled away.

Naruto noticed something on her finger, a ring. She smiled, walking out of the room, she had other patients to attend too. The blonde Shinobi just laid back in his bed, taking a deep breath. Looking around, he took a big whiff of the air, smiling. It smelled of tall oaks, honeysuckle, cherry blossom, and roses. Yes, this was Konoha, this was home!

He felt his stomach grumble, "Oh man, I'm hungry."

"Hokage-Sama," he heard someone call out from outside of his room. "Sorry, but Sakura-san asked for no one to visit him yet."

"No, he's fine, let her in!" Naruto called out, expecting Tsunade to walk through the door.

When Kakashi walked in wearing Hokage Robes, Naruto blanched slightly. The man smiled under his mask, looking at Naruto with both his brown eyes, one with an old scar under it. Kakashi sat at the end of his bed, his mirth was very apparent.

"Good morning sleepyhead," Kakashi said while looking at him in the eye. "Naruto, do you remember anything at all?"

"Not since the explosion, no, I don't…" Naruto admitted, trying to scramble his brain for information. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, I ain't got nothing."

"Tell us something we didn't know," he laughed.

"Screw you," Naruto chuckled out. "Where's Teme, and Ne…ji…"

"Ahh, you just now remembered, didn't you?" Kakashi inquired.

"Y-yeah is Hinata alright, Sakura said she's been coming here every day." Naruto inquired, trying to move his legs.

 ** _'Brat, your legs are going to be out of commission for the moment.'  
_** _'No kidding, didn't figure that out even when I couldn't feel them.'_

"Man," Naruto grimaced as he felt his shoulder pop. "I've got really bad timing on things."

"Yeah, you do, but looks like someone else here to see you." Kakashi faced the door, "You can come in, I was sure Sakura would've let know of all people."

Hinata walked through the door, her hair was unkempt slightly. She had bags under her eyes, those beautiful lavenders were slightly bloodshot from like of sleep, she walked over to the bed. Stunned silent, looking at Naruto's blue eyes. She whimpered out, reaching for his hand.

"Are really awake, Naruto-kun?" She asked, believing it was a dream.

Naruto responded by grinning his signature smile, "Of course I am, just took a nap."

Hinata wrapped her arms around, sobbing into his shoulder. The Shinobi brought his arms around her, comforting her by slowly rubbing her back.

"I'm not going anywhere, Hinata-chan, I promise…" He stated while returning her hug.

Still though, somewhere deep in his mind, something felt very off.


	14. Season One Episode Fourteen: Son Goku!

Art done by BuenaVSTA link below.

buenavsta/art/Primrose-813036533

Go to deviant art. Can't fully link in this note.

* * *

Walking around Konoha, Naruto was slightly stumbling. Hinata was by his side, helping him stay up. The atrophy was starting to wear off, but he found time to enjoy how peaceful Konoha looked. A year and a half had gone by since he had fought Kaguya. From what he understood, Sasuke had been instrumental in getting the villages to unite. The onyx eyed Uchiha had truly changed his ways and had begun to do a redemption mission, training to become The New Rikudō Senin. However, Naruto knew that with his awakening people were going to antsy about them seeing each other again.

"Let's take a seat," Hinata said while walking him toward a bench.

Naruto nodded, being helped over to a bench. He yawned a little, looking at the blue skies above him. The sun glowing across the cold village. Winter was in full swing, snow laid upon the streets of Konoha. Wearing his mother's scarf, the blonde nestled his head against Hinata's. He saw several children run by, the next generation of Konoha's Shinobi.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked sweetly, rubbing his head.

"This just feels surreal, Dattebayo, I've been stuck in this weird dream. I mean, it was me, but it wasn't me. I feel like I'm still there, but I'm not if this is a dream…I really don't want to wake up from it." Naruto admitted, telling her how he felt.

Hinata smiled, "I think you're just really tired."

"Yeah," Naruto laughed slightly. "Never thought one little walk would get me so exhausted."

"You've been laying in a bed for a year, you need to just relax. Besides, everyone around the village is being told just to give you time to adjust." Hinata spoke with some confidence in her voice, "Though, they're thinking of keeping the memorial up."

"Memorial?" Naruto inquired.

"We thought you had died," Hinata lamented as she faced the ground. "Everyone…in every village…built something to honor you."

"I…don't know what to say," Naruto replied silently with shock laced in his voice. "I…never thought that someone would build stuff in my honor. It's a weird feeling."

"You have all the time in the world, right now, at least." Hinata smiled, watching as he nodded.

"Naruto-san!"

Naruto's eyes opened wide, stunned at the voice, "Konohamaru?!"

"Yeah, it is me, the one and only!" Konohamaru announced, jumping down from a nearby tree.

The boy's long scarf dangled in the wind, "Sorry if I'm interrupting your date, Hinata-san!"

"D-date?!" Naruto shouted in surprise, "This isn't a date, I just woke up!"

Hinata giggled a little bit, "You're fine, Konohamaru."

"Yeah, yeah, hey Naruto-san wanna spar?" Konohamaru asked.

"I just woke up," Naruto replied as he yawned. "Still too weak."

"Meh, I was going to suggest ramen eating," Konohamaru teased.

"On second thought, you know what, maybe walking is good for me!" The blonde Shinobi's tune suddenly changed.

The Hyuuga heiress just laughed a little, "Hang on Naruto-kun, I'll help you get there."

Helping him up, Naruto and Hinata began walking out of the park with Konohamaru leading them. Something was off though, it felt like a haze of sorts. Something was happening, Naruto began breathing rapidly, making Hinata stop.

"Naruto?"

Naruto eyes rolled back, he fell forward, smacking into the ground. Hinata immediately grabbed him, looking at Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru, go get Sakura-san, now!" She ordered.

Konohamaru nodded and began to run as fast as possible. Hinata began checking Naruto's pulse, placing her fingers on his neck. She found that his heart was normal, but as blood slowly leaked from his nose, she saw Kurama's chakra take hold of him.

"Naruto!"

He didn't stir, just breathed slowly.

"Naruto!"

She looked around, breathing hard, placing her ear against his chest.

"Naruto…please don't go…"

* * *

 _"Naruto…"  
"Naruto…"  
"Naruto!"  
"NARUTO!"_

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed as his eyes opened, waking up from under the rubble.

Naruto got up, pushing the rubble off. Breathing hard, blood dripped from his nose as he gripped his head. His eyes took time to adjust to the light that was now present in the underground city. His labored breathing came to a calmer huffing of air. He tore open his jacket, looking at his arms, no sign of medical equipment even being on him. Dazed, confused, and slightly injured. The Shinobi struggled up, looking at the hidden city.

Noting that City's name was written in Kanji, Naruto took note of what it said.

 _'The Kingdom of Fire,'_ Naruto read as he squinted his eyes, _'This doesn't make sense…The Great Five were separated in my time…let alone was Hinokuni named The Fire Kingdom.'_

Noticing something, the blonde walked over toward human bones. They were broken, snapped to pieces as if something had mauled them to death. He then saw what looked like a sword in their hand, but the symbol on the sword had him taken aback slightly. It was The Uchiha Crest, but with The Uzumaki Swirl inside of it. Picking up the blade, noting how bad it was rusted. It had been many decades at least, and more than likely centuries since anyone truly wielded the blade.

However, the next thing that caught his eye was the presence of automatons. The very same kind of robots that were talked about in science fiction in his time, and made reality in Remnant, seemed to have broken here at some point. The round, ball-like, machine seemed to have mechanisms solely for pushing chakra in a singular direction.

Gripping his head, he felt that something was off. Putting his palms together, Naruto sent a wave of chakra out. If there was any Genjutsu active, his wave of intense chakra would've blown it away. However, as the rubble moved about, and the lanterns flickered, nothing changed. Nothing made sense about this, not now, Naruto took a deep breath before dropping into a lotus position.

Sensing it, his eyes opened wide as they took on the toad-like form of Sage Mode. He got up, looking down at the ground. He felt instinct take over, weaving hand seals directed by the Sun Mark on his hand. Slamming his palms afterward, slapping them onto the ground, it slowly began fissure open. It revealed to Naruto a scene of wonder. Dropping into the small fissure, just right below the city, was a massive storage of food, water, and weapons.

Looking at the storage facility underneath The Underground City. Naruto realized something was calling to his Sun Mark. It had to be, he felt its pulse, how it beat itself rapidly. Holding his right hand, The Shinobi watched as the massive room lit up. A lot of the food was perfectly sealed in Fūinjutsu Seals complex enough to even raise his own eyebrow at. Weapons, on the other hand, looked rusty and crumbling. However, all of them bared the same uniform seal on their hilts.

"None of this makes sense, Shinobi are not from here, but why I am seeing this?" Naruto asked himself aloud.

His footsteps echoed in the eerie silence. Stopping, he found what his mark had been calling him too. His eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing, and in a way, he wanted to refuse it. There, in the middle of this storage room, was a generator. Fresh chakra, obviously from himself, energized back to the point of working. It would explain the powerful feedback loop he received, but that didn't explain why his mark was calling him to it.

It became clear when he got closer and a sudden pillar rose to stop him. The sudden structure glowed a pale green, indicating to Naruto where to place his palm. Reaching out, he placed his palm on the indicator. It began scanning it, this was nothing like his own people's technology, this was too far advanced to be.

 _"Identification Unrecognized, attempted interface failed. Colony Two of The Fire Kingdom deemed unsuccessful. All remaining citizens, Shinobi, and Knights of Gelel are to proceed to evacuation tunnels. Otsutsuki infiltrators are to be engaged by Automatons."_

Naruto's eyes widened tremendously at this message, "Otsutsuki…infiltrators?"

"Hey, wait a minute, what day did this occur?!" Naruto yelled at the pillar.

 _"Unable to provide information, please see your registration officer."_

"Hey," Naruto placed his palm further on it, "I need an answer here!"

 _"Unable to provide information, please see your registration officer."_

"Screw your registration officer!" Naruto screamed as he suddenly felt anger swell within.

 _"Unable to verify information, have a nice day, thank you for using the information center!"_

Naruto growled out, "Screw you too!"

Looking back at the sphere of chakra in the generator, Naruto sensed that it wasn't only his chakra mixed in. Drawing his right fist back, he took a deep breath. This was either going to be a very stupid, potentially deadly, idea. Or, perhaps, letting his natural intuition of punching everything works its magic would help. Roaring out, Naruto slammed his fist against the container. It didn't even crack, the only thing he felt crack remotely was his hand. His eyes widened, like giant white balls of pain, he began jumping shaking his right hand.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow, Naruto yelped over and over, "Damn it, Dattebayo!"

The blonde felt his hand throb in pain, looking at it, it has a purple bruise already began forming. Growling, he held his left hand, forming a Sage enhanced Rasengan. He roared, slamming it into the casing, but once again, there was no dice and the force rebounded onto him. Sending him careening into some of the weapon caches, knocking them all down.

"Gah, what the hell?!" Naruto roared, gripping his head, "That's not normal!"

His eyes got a glint of something inside of the sphere. An object that seemed to glint under the light. Sucking his teeth, Naruto grumbled as he got up. He just stood there, looking at his Sun Mark pulse like crazy. He watched the sphere carefully, noting how it also pulsed at the same time. That's when he had an epiphany and pointed his hand toward the chakra. Focusing, he draws on his own chakra from within the sphere and linked it with the other chakra in it. Entering Six Paths Mode, Naruto's golden eyes took on their fox-like appearance. The glass began cracking, that's when he charged.

Breaking the through the glass with ease, reaching in, and grabbing what he had been seeing. Pulling it out, he discovered that it was a crystal. Naruto recognized that the make of the crystal was Gelel, but is infused with chakra. More specifically, it was infused with the chakra of a Bijuu, Son Goku. The crystal began to slowly transfer its chakra into The Shinobi. For a moment, after absorbing the chakra, Naruto's skin lit up like a flame. Golden fire trailed over his body, extinguishing it just as quickly.

His eyes burned with golden fire however, he felt power radiate through him. He shut his eyes, hearing battle, followed by the roaring of Son Goku. Hundreds of Grimm screamed in unison, and when he saw the face of a demonic woman. His eyes snapped open, still retaining their Six Path's form, Naruto found himself running out of the storage room. Grabbing a sword on the way out, he jumped through the hole he created when he first entered and began to use his instincts to travel forward through The Underground City.

He felt Son Goku fighting a massive winged beast and losing!

Without much thought, Naruto crouched down as the golden flames gathered around him, "Hold on Son!"

He leaped up into the air, subconsciously weaving hand seals before slamming his palm into the earth above him. It opened a fissure that deepened as he went through, bursting through the ground, Naruto slammed into a Nevermore that had been flying above the location. Its body charred from the heat Naruto's flames produced.

He began to drop from the air as he closed his eyes, sending a massive pulse chakra out.

* * *

Ozpin was sitting at his desk, reading the fairytale book he had been fond of. He suddenly felt all the hairs of his body stand up, he stood up from his desk, rushing toward the window. He watched as the skies seem to calm themselves, the rain stopping, with the sun slowly peeking out from the clouds. As if touched by the God of Light, the sky began to light with fire as the sun pierced through further.

Orange clouds rolled by, with some lightning remaining to be released, but that wasn't what he felt. He felt the oppressive aura being lifted away, he felt the rays of warmth fill his office, and most of all he felt something stir inside of himself. A feeling he had long forgotten, hope.

He looked back toward the fairytale book, the hero was dressed in golden flames.

* * *

Flying briefly, Naruto felt his Six Path's energy blistering inside of him for the first time in a very long time. Knocking down several Nevermore that had flown in the sky trying to intercept him, he slammed downward with his target being a giant twin-headed snake Grimm known as a King Taijitu. The massive beast screeched in pain as its body burned to embers.

The golden flames faded, but Naruto's still glowed with power. He growled like a beast. He saw several Beowolfs heading right for him. Without much thought, Naruto caused the ground to ignite around him as it melted into the lava that was forming. Pushing his right hand forward, the lava flowed with the movement, drowning the Grimm in liquid rock.

Blocking a Deathstalker's stinger his forearm. Naruto gripped its tail before spinning on his heels and throwing it! The mighty Grimm clicked and chittered as it slammed into a large cliff. There was a rage burning inside his very soul, he felt it burn, and as he walked forward so did the lava. Dead trees began to ignite around him as his breathing became calm, his golden foxlike eyes burned with rage.

Jumping up, with the lava following him, he weaved hand seals to concentrate the lava into a single puddle. He dropped down onto the only solid piece in the middle of it, his skin energized by his power unaffected by the heat. A roar of Grimm made him stare over his shoulder, dozens of Creepers and Beowolfs came charging out of the forest. Weaving hand seals, Naruto stumped his right foot onto the ground, causing a fissure to open. The fissure ended up swallowing the small horde of Grimm, and as the lava flowed in, he felt his Six Paths energy leaving him. Jumping off the platform, Naruto's eyes turned back into the toad-like ones of Sage Mode. He could sense Son. He felt the massive beast losing his fight after he got swarmed by dozens of smaller Grimm.

Without missing a beat, Naruto dashed at blistering speeds toward where he felt Son's energy signature. His arms were behind his back, grabbing the sword he had taken from the storage area under the lost city. Pulling the blade out in a reverse grip, his chakra ignited the blade. It had a crystal inside of it, like those Dust Crystals, which perturbed him slightly.

As a Beringel charged out of the forest, Naruto dashed forward, leaping to meet it. Slicing its head off in a fluid motion, landing in a slide, he began to cut down Grimm that came at him left and right. Like a scythe cutting grass, he felt everything about him was cranked up to eleven after his brief exposure of Bijuu chakra. He felt his chakra reserves igniting, he felt his heart pounding, he felt alive! As a horde of demons of the night descended, the sun would not fall, instead, its light cut them away. Time seems to pass by quickly as he created clones to cover his flanks, each of them taking out dozens of Grimm. This horde was massive, and then he felt his senses kicking up a storm.

Jumping up, the ground cracked open as Son Goku emerged out while holding a giant falcon-like creature in its hands. The massive horde of Grimm turning their attention to him, Naruto created more clones and took an opportunistic approach in the slaughter of night demons. Landing in the middle of a group, Naruto unleashed a wave of wind chakra from the blade, slicing anything in its path apart.

Son ripped the massive phoenix-like Grimm in half, roaring in victory. He turned his attention to fighting below him. He smiled with mirth as Naruto tossed a group of smaller Grimm up toward him, he blew hot flames from his mouth to incarnate them.

"Son," Naruto took a moment to let his clones do the work. "Are you alright?!"

 **"About time you arrived, I was starting to think I'd have to get myself out of this jam. Why do I detect my chakra inside of you already?"** Son inquired while casually stomping on smaller Grimm.

"Not a very good time right now, don't you think?!" Naruto yelled as he blasted several more Grimm away.

He felt his Natural Chakra reserves slowly diminishing. Though, it didn't much matter as Son swatted everything around them. Naruto smirked, holding his right fist out. Son returned the smirk and placed his knuckle against the much smaller one of Naruto. Both of their eyes widened as their chakra flowed into each other's, and Son slowly found himself being pulled into Naruto's seal. The seal he was given at birth glowed orange until turning back to its normal black.

 ** _'Let's finish this, kid.'  
_** _'Don't have to tell me twice, Son!'_

Naruto roared out as a red chakra cloak formed over his body. Sprouting four-tails made of energy, he hunched over slightly as lava began to form around him. The chakra cloak took the form of a monkey with octopi tails. Smirking, Naruto watched as The Grimm began to back off. He took a step forward, his eyes turning red from Bijuu chakra flowing and mixing with his remaining natural energy. When a Beowolf tried to be brave and attack, Naruto made a third hand with the cloak, snatching it midair. He crushed it into black dust, watching as it flowed away in the wind.

The Grimm began to scatter, running away, but not feeling merciful Naruto held his right hand above his head. A massive amount of fire began to gather into a ball of energy, becoming bladed. Naruto readied to launch the attack but smirked when he turned around and launched at a group guarding a jellyfish-looking Grimm.

"Yōton: Rasenshuriken!"

The attack impacted, obliterating everything in its path with hellfire and rage. Taking deep breaths, Naruto calmed down as he saw the embers of a burning forest flow past him. Setting things right, he weaved hand seals and conjured a massive torrent of water into his mouth.

 ** _'I see that you've been mastering the elements, not bad for a human kid. How did you come about my chakra earlier, when I felt it coming toward me? I latched on and managed to draw a lot of it out of you.'_** Son explained why Naruto's earlier power seemed so brief.

Naruto closed his eyes, _'I saw visions of you fighting that massive beast of a Grimm and losing.'_

 ** _'Your vision must be really lacking, I was clearly winning,'_** Son laughed it off.

Rolling his eyes while they were close, Naruto smirked, _'Ain't no shame in admitting you needed help.'_

 ** _'If you keep this up, I'm cutting off my generous tithe of chakra. Besides, it has been a very a long time, I'm sure you've been filled in by now.'_** Son Goku argued and sensed for any other Bijuu chakra inside of Naruto.

 _'Filled…in, you mean about The Gods, and stuff like that?'_ Naruto inquired.

 ** _'Uh…no, I assumed you were already aware of that. Father must've told you by now, about what happened, you know?'_** Son asked, trying to pry.

 _"Um, no, all he told me was to be wary of The Gods. I'm assuming they're just having a little fun game, but I'm not playing by their rules…I think, anyway have any of you seen Kaguya?'_ Naruto inquired, dropping into a lotus.

The last embers of the burning fires fade as the rain returns. Naruto took a deep breath, feeling the blank signatures of The Grimm leaving as they fled. Their mission failed, there was no reason to stick around and fight him. Even Grimm sometimes knew when to retreat, although from what Naruto experienced it took a lot.

 ** _'What…no, what game? Naruto…you…I…'_** Son sounded confused, **_'Do you not know what happened?'_**

 _'Okay, Son, you're starting to worry me here. Jokes over, I found you, you're safe. With your power, I'm gonna work on gathering everyone else back up, and we're gonna go home!'_ Naruto replied mentally, laying against the charred ground.

The sword lying next to him.

 ** _'Naruto…you're…right. Let's gather everyone and find a way home. Hey, we'll need to talk to Father sometime soon,'_** Son said through their mental link, I think I'm going to take a nap.

 _'Don't go turning into another Kurama, speak of Kurama, I need to find him…have you seen him?'_ Naruto inquired further, watching as the skies part, feeling the warmth of the sun.

 _'Come to think of it, I did have this weird dream when I got knocked out in an Underground City not far from here…'_ Naruto watched as tree leaves began to fall around them, hearing a jet engine approaching.

 ** _'Naruto…I'm taking a nap, please…let's talk some other time. I'm cutting the link, for now, forgive me,'_** Son replied, yawning afterward.

 _'Right, you must be very tired Son, sorry.'_ Naruto apologized, watching as an aircraft landed nearby.

"Oi," a man called out as the bay door to a Bullhead opened up, "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yeah," Naruto raised his hand up, "That's me…who are you?"

The man stepping out of the aircraft was an older man, he had blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a green flight suit. His hair had a fade inside of the middle. He yawned, scratching his backside a little. Looking at the Shinobi, he smirked. Reaching for his pistol, Naruto got ready to act, but instead, he shot past him. Hitting a small tentacle Grimm with a skull-like body dead-on.

"Gotcha," The man stated. "Sorry, that thing would've made you an obedient slave to its whims. Fusers tend to that, and combine Grimm together, its not pretty sight."

"Oh, thanks," Naruto thanked the man.

"No need for it kid, looks you've been busy. Qrow knows how to pick 'em, drunk owes me a good shot of whiskey for this job. My name's Jack, by the way, Jack "Ace" Green, now get on my bird, and let's bounce out of this kettle pot." Jack stated, pointing toward his Bullhead with his thumb.

Naruto nodded, slightly limping over toward the aircraft. No sooner than he sat down and strapped himself in he passed out. Jack rolled his eyes, closing the bay door. He went over to the pilot seat, starting the machine up. He noted that something was moving away from them on the radar, a group of three signatures.

"Ah, probably just some Grimm, better arm my cannons," Jack said aloud, activating his guns.

He then got his scroll out, "Qrow, this is Jack. Puppy Dog is in the crate, in the pipe, I'm Oscar-Mike to Beta Echo Alpha Charlie Oscar November. Tell Headmaster Ozpin that he owes me a paycheck for this job, and you owe me a glass of whiskey with some gosh darn coke."

 _"Right, rain check that whiskey, and I'm sure Oz will cut a big check for this one. Remember the old rule, if you saw something that's not normal, you didn't see it all, kapeesh?"_ Qrow replied to Jack's call.

"Heh," Jack laughed slightly, "Roger that, drunken bird."

* * *

Son Goku looked at his area inside of Naruto, shaping it to his will. He formed a landscape from a long time ago. He looked around his forest mountains, the great fruit trees that bloomed. However, most of all, he looked at the little shrine that was made by a little girl with navy blue hair and light blue eyes. She had two whisker marks on her face and smiled and looked down at her. She smiled back, but no sooner than she was created in his landscape, she ended up fading away.

Sighing, he held his head low, **_'Father…what have you done?'_**


	15. Heyo

So...how's it been?

Anyway let's cut to the chase I've had family problems come up. My dad is in the hospital, and work is beating me down since I got hurt. Who ever, I would like to announce that I should start updating in about a week for Primrose.

Also I have been commissioned via trade to write a straight RWBY fanfic.

But plot twist, its Adam x Ruby! A crack ship.

Also PLOT TWIST I have plans for my own crack ship of Naruko x Sasuke. Don't worry it's not coming out until next year.

Anyways, Jist letting you guys know that I am alive and fine!

Love.

Blaze/Chris.

P.s 7 days it will be deleted.

Also ignore Rio, I'm not high.


	16. Season One Episode Fifteen: Divided

_(We are nearing the season one finale'. The theme song for Naruto will be included at the end of the tone of it is supposed to be somber and emotional guitar music. Anyway, some of you are already PMing and asking me just "WTF" is going on here. Well, all I can say is that hints will be given, take them as you will. Anyway, that about wraps this up, please take care and thank you for one thousand followers._

 _Seriously, I can't thank you enough!_

 _Let's shoot for two thousand!_

 _-Love Blaze.)_

* * *

Son Goku stood in his own little reality marble inside of Naruto's seal. The proud ape king, The Yonbi, stood tall over the trees he made up for it. He was lost in his thoughts, focusing on the winds of mountains. He remembered it all, and he couldn't have been happier those days. However, Naruto was only human, and humans never lasted forever. It felt lonely, in this mountain, and yet he could still feel the presence of his brother somewhere here.

He just couldn't find him!

Looking down, he saw a phantom of a little girl playing hopscotch on stones she created. The girl's navy-blue hair didn't wave in his wind, nor did her light blue eyes lack the mirth of any child. She just hummed a song, playing, she stopped and turned to Son Goku. The Monkey King just sighed and smiled. His hand outreached, gently picking her up and placing her on his back.

 **"Come now, Himawari-Hime, let us go for a walk around my kingdom."** Son Goku sighed, but he then forced a smile.

She returned the smile, not recognizing it as force, _"Okay, but only until Tou-chan comes to get me!"_

 **"Yes,"** Son chuckled slightly. **"Until he comes to get you…Princess Lavender."**

* * *

Naruto was slowly leaning upward as he woke up. He had some bandages around his midsection. The smell of medicine permeated the air. Looking over the various beds, he held his head as he felt Son's power move about inside of him. His chakra nodes getting used to Bijuu chakra once more, he felt some open that he never really paid attention to before.

Getting up from the bed, he walked over to grab his jacket that was on a hanger. He noted something, leaning over toward the glass door, he saw his reflection. His whisker marks had thickened a little bit. His blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the room. Opening the door, the blonde saw the hallway that was empty. The ticking of a clock caught his attention, he looked at the time. He saw that it was eleven in the evening, everyone that was responsible would be in bed by now.

 _'Son, are you awake?'_ Naruto mentally called out.

 ** _'Of course, I am,'_** Son replied. **_'I see you're nearly healed. That emergency seal you did with me was dangerous, your chakra coils and pathway have diluted themselves throughout our separation. Kurama not being inside of you, well, you get the gist.'_**

 _'Unfortunately,'_ Naruto mumbled while he began to walk, _'Son, did I have a weird dream?'_

 ** _'Define weird,'_** Son requested. **_'I can still see Obito and Madara in mine…'_**

Naruto bit his lip, _'I feel like I am trapped. I'm inside like this box, and outside I can see myself and Hinata…but…here…I'm stuck.'_

 _'I can't move, I can't call out to her, she can't hear or see me. I'm then just sent away, and I just wake up. This is just been a dream I've had on and off every so often,'_ Naruto told Son, leaning against the wall. _'We need to get home soon…'_

 ** _'Naruto,'_** Son sighed. **_'I know we must get home soon, but these people still need us here…'_**

 _'I know…'_ Naruto replies before walking down the hallway, _'I need to go for a walk Son, talk later?'_

 ** _'I guess, I'm inside of you, not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon…later Naruto-san,'_** Son disconnected their mental link.

Naruto rubbed his temple, growling a little at the pain. Walking the corridors of the castle-like school, the blonde felt all the energy signatures. However, he found his eyes widening when feeling something pulse back at him. Grunting, he looked around, opening a window before hopping out of it. Looking at his glowing Sun Mark, he saw it staying solid. No pulsing, nothing, just not signaling anything other than he was still an Ashura incarnate. Stopping near the fountain, he looked down at his reflection. He stared into it, noting how he looked trashed.

He saw himself in the waters, slowly, it changed to where he was wearing The Hokage cloak. His eyes dulled over a little bit, watching as Hinata walked next to him in the water. Slowly, he reached down, trying to touch her and see if she could just pull him in. Only he felt the water envelop the tip of his finger, distorting his image and hers until it transformed into a black-haired girl with golden eyes. Startled, he jumped back, looking at her.

"Hey, are you alright?" The girl asked him.

"Wow, sorry, I just…dozed off!" Naruto quickly lied.

"Okay," the teenage girl accepted, though she was weirded out. "Are you a student here, I haven't seen you around?"

"Oh, no, I'm just a…um…a friend of Ozpin's. My name is Naruto," he greeted her with his hand out. "Nice to meet you, sorry I just got out of the infirmary."

She smiled a little, "Blake, Blake Belladonna. You just looked out of place, so I was just checking to see who you were…"

 _'Right,'_ Naruto mused before speaking up, "Is the cafeteria still open?"

"They're closed," Blake answered while crossing her arms. "I think there's some stuff to make sandwiches in the common rooms though."

"Awesome," Naruto said while chuckling a little. "Looks like Operation: Kill All Sandwiches is in effect, Dattebayo."

She couldn't help it, a giggle crept out, "Yeah. Though, if I may warn you, avoid the chicken."

"Oh, why's that?" Naruto inquired, rubbing the back of his head.

"Crap, sorry, just trying to do what a friend told me to do. Break the ice with jokes," she sighed. "Well, I didn't mean to offend you, since you're a Fox Faunus."

"Well…I'm not a Faunus," Naruto pointed toward his whiskers, "These are just birthmarks."

"Really?" Blake asked, surprised.

"Yeah, trust me, I grew up with being called The Fox Boy and stuff because of them. Anyway," Naruto sighed as he stretched. "I know this may sound embarrassing, but I don't really know my way around this place…"

"Didn't you say you were a friend of Ozpin?" Blake inquired incredulously.

"To be fair," Naruto points out, "I didn't say I knew my way around here."

Rolling her eyes, Blake smirked, "Fair point."

"Still though," Blake pointed toward a part of the campus, "You'll find the common rooms over there."

"Thanks, um, Blake." Naruto thanked her, he felt confused. "By chance, are you staying up?"

"I'm mostly an owl," She admitted. "I have trouble sleeping at night, why?"

"Just thought I could talk to someone to pass the time," the Shinobi admitted. "I'm not from Vale."

Blake hummed, "Where are you from then?"

"Vacuo," Naruto answered swiftly. "I am just dropping by every so often since Ozpin is offering jobs."

"Jobs," she lingered on the word, "As in Hunting missions?"

"Well," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "More like specific things."

She was curious and looked into his eyes to see if he was lying. Usually, when someone lies, their pupils would dilate for a very moment. He caught onto what she was doing quickly enough and paced his heart in order to control his own body's natural tendency to dilate in the act of a lie. So, when he answered her, she couldn't notice his eyes dilating. She pulled back, crossing her arms, and looking at him some more.

 _'It's weird,'_ Blake thought as she gazed into his eyes. _'I swear I've met him before….'_

 _'Why is she just staring into my eyes,'_ Naruto began to sweat, _'Seriously, its kind of weird.'_

She just sighed, "Sorry, I just…well…"

"You know," Naruto chuckled a little bit. "I don't mind hanging out here…kind of peaceful."

"Yeah," she took a seat on the fountain's stonework, "Sorry about being suspicious…"

"It's all good," Naruto replied as he took a seat on the stonework as well. "Truth be told, I'm rather surprised that there aren't security guards walking around this place."

"Well there's Glynda, who is like an army of security guards," Blake pointed out.

"Still," the blonde watched as moth floated down to his outstretched finger, "Only so much one person can do."

She looked bewildered at what he was reaching out for.

"That is very true, sometimes I think Glynda overworks herself. Although she won't admit it," Blake agreed as she sat on the edge of the fountain.

Naruto hummed, nodding his head as the moth flew off his finger. The weirdest thing about the moth he noted was that it seemed to glow bright orange as it floated toward the moon. His blue eyes scanned over the terrain, finding nothing there, and he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Ever since discovering the hidden city, he had been on edge.

The Belladonna saw him looking at the moon, "Are you alright, seriously."

"Yeah," he answered her. "I'm just thinking of a friend back home."

"Girlfriend?" She inquired, almost teasingly, but she restrained herself slightly.

"Yeah, kind of," he admitted as he put his arms behind his head. "I never got to say goodbye before I left home."

"Oh…" She looked down at her feet, "I kind of understand…"

"Yeah…" Naruto sighed as he watched as clouds moved over the moon.

"Hey, there's another moth, wow…" Blake reached out to let it land on her finger.

Naruto looked confused, kind of like she had earlier when he did the same because there was no moth there.

His eyes focused on the small bits of light breaking through the clouds. Watching as it bent around the clouds, an aurora of baleful light breaching the sky. Blake noted that his stare was intense as if he was seeing something she couldn't and went to get up before she felt herself faint. Naruto barely caught her, but he finally found the source of the imagery starting to misshape around him.

A woman with butterfly wings was playing a shamisen, the music just now reaching his ears. She had moths of many colors around her. She smirked and with a large stroke of the strings, a soundwave filled the entire school. Naruto barely dodged out of the way as a plume of the black smoke engulfed area he was in. He noted the horrendous smell of it, and all the while had to hold Blake bridal style to keep her from save as he turned his back.

Several large knives buried themselves deep into his back. He looked over his shoulder, seeing a mutated man with mandibles and six arms smirking. He should've known better to let his guard down so easily, and as he felt the blood dripping from his back. Naruto growled as his eyes turned gold from gathering nature chakra from standing still as they gloated. Angling his right hand to form a one-handed seal for his Shadow Clone, he formed one to take Blake away from the fight as used chakra inside of him to propel the knives out.

He watched as the large man went after the clone. He pulled a kunai out, throwing it toward Blake. Just about the time, he'd grab her, he warped in a yellow flash right in front of her. His eyes widened as Naruto sent a kick straight into his head, knocking him across the school grounds. The large man growled, getting up and coughing a wad of black blood up. Naruto formed two more clones, looking at them, and nodding. They went off to secure the rest of the school, and to make sure Ozpin was okay. The blonde walked forward, spitting out some blood that had gathered into his mouth.

"I've got to admit one thing," Naruto growled as he looked at them. "Whoever this Salem person is, she's a tenacious bitch."

"How dare you, mortal, call our God Queen a bitch? She is the one that will unite Remnant and bring about the peace that it needs. If blood must be spilled in the process, so be it, but you of all people should know this more than any other, Inari Hinokami." The Butterfly person spoke as if she knew Naruto.

"Inari…Hinokami," Naruto sounded out, confused. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki…"

"Hehe, well, this certainly is very interesting. Either way, you'll be coming with us, unfortunately, Lady Salem wants you alive…but she never how much alive either." The Monarch looking woman giggled, readying her shamisen.

 _'As much as I'm showing out, this is a very bad situation. My body still hasn't fully recovered from entering The Six Paths state earlier yesterday. I managed to push the blades out, but without proper chakra control, my wounds aren't sealing. I let my guard down,'_ Naruto grimaced as he felt blood roll down his back. _'Not to mention that butterfly woman is very good at audible Genjutsu, any sound I hear could be false.'_

He sensed the hidden third one, _'Then there's the hidden guy, the one that launched the smoke at me and Blake-san. If she had inhaled any of it, aura or not, I think she'd die. Luckily, I was aware enough to move aside, but I ended inhaling some of it.'_

Naruto finally turned his attention to the guy with mandibles, _'And then there's this abomination. He was strong enough to sink those blades into me from a good distance and accurate enough to put them into spots that'll keep bleeding.'_

 _'No doubt about it, they weren't aiming to outright kill me. They were aiming to disable me, and almost succeeded…Son…'_ Naruto called out mentally.

 ** _"What is it, Naruto?"_** Son responded as he yawned.

 _'Oi, wake up! We're in some serious trouble, I need to borrow some chakra!'_ Naruto mentally yelled as he dodged a smoke bomb being thrown at him.

He formed a clone to make sure that it was kicked away from the school. Dodging backward, Naruto saw some more blades getting throw at him. He used his kunai to deflect them and began to run toward the wall of the school. Intent to lead them away while his clones went through and secured the place with barrier seals.

However, the trio looked at each other, smirking. The Shamisen was then played rapidly, winds began to whip as the hidden one suddenly emerged from the forest, blowing black smoke from his mouth. Naruto looked at the school as black smoke headed right for it. Naruto's clones emerged from the school, forming hand seals before launching a blast of wind from their palms. They managed to blow the cloud away, but blades flew out from the smoke, impacting them.

The large man was about to break through the school's wall, and into one of the student rooms before Naruto warped right in front of him. A red chakra cloak formed around him as the large man tried to smash him into the building, negating the attack altogether. Growling, the mutant pushed Naruto backward. His feet taking some of the stone of the building, the blonde noted that he was using chakra to anchor himself to the building. With a deep breath, Naruto draws his fist back and punched the mutant off the building.

"Pincer!" The butterfly woman yelled out, watching him land and break the ground a little.

Naruto landed in the courtyard, his eyes burning orange as he took a deep breath. The other man beside her began to swell up, a greenish smoke flowing from his nostrils before he blew a column of it toward their target. The blonde closed his eyes as began to heat the air around him. Suddenly the gas plume ignited, flowing red hot flames right back to the origin. Monarch barely dodged out of the way as Bombardier was engulfed in the flames.

He screamed in pain for a split second before disappearing into ashes. Monarch landed in a nearby tree, watching as Naruto emerged out of the fire, the ground melting under his footsteps. Naruto glared right at them. He took a deep breath before forming hand seals to Son's mental instruction. Turning on his feet, he charged at them. Pincer placed himself in between Naruto and Monarch, blocking the blonde's attack.

Naruto rolled his eyes as his fist suddenly heated up, melting through the armor plating on Pincer's arms. The mutant screamed in pain, only to get pulled away by Monarch, who flew into the air. She tossed him into air, grabbing him by her legs, and began to play her shamisen. Tree branches around her target began to get shredded.

The blonde took a deep breath, "Yōton: Hotaru!"

Breathing out, flaming lights emerged Naruto's mouth, carried like embers toward the approaching wind. Monarch watched as these flickering lights impacted one of her wind blasts, suddenly igniting it. She stopped immediately, flying just high enough to avoid the flame pillar that came from the backlash of Wind Chakra and Fire Chakra mixing. Naruto stood in the flames as the red cloak flickered off him, she just smirked as the flames consumed him.

Only for a kunai to shoot up from the flames. it impacted Pincer's head, killing him instantly. His eyes rolled backward, and his dead weight brought her down. She was about to call out to him when Naruto suddenly appeared behind her in a yellow flash. She couldn't dodge in time, promptly, she was kicked in the back and sent to the ground.

The flames began to die down. Clones of Naruto began to use both water release Jutsus and Yang release to hide the fact that a battle had taken place. She struggled, crawling herself toward a tree. Leaning up against it, Naruto watched her reach out to her shamisen. He took a deep breath as he began limping, and readied wind chakra around the kunai.

She and he locked eyes, glaring at each other.

"You're so strong," She breathed out as she readied to play her final note. "Still, you're so weak-minded. Don't you want to know why called you Inari Hinokami?"

"Not really," Naruto admitted as he readied himself. "All I know is that if you are linked to her…then she needs to heed this warning. I'm fair game, no one else is."

"Fool," She giggled as she looked him dead in the eye. "You're so clueless, Naruto Uzumaki is dead."

He stopped just a few inches from her faces, her eyes widened at the blistering speed. The point of the kunai just hanging above her eye, he struggled with himself. Finally, he settled with just cutting the strings off the shamisen, breaking whatever Genjutsu had been pervading the area. She looked up at him and watched as his eyes turned back into their natural blue.

She breathed hard, "Those ruins you found, they're not of any village you'd know of. That's because of The Great War thousands of years ago, a war so devastating…your people had to flee their very world."

"Bullshit," Naruto readied himself to stab her, "I'm not listening to bullshit tales from a monster."

"Would it surprise you that I now see you," She told him with a smirk. "I can see why you'd call yourself Naruto Uzumaki, but that doesn't change the fact you're actually…"

He couldn't stop himself, Naruto sliced across her neck. She just sat there, midsentence as black blood slowly leaked down. Dripping onto the ground, her head rolled off her shoulders just as her entire body turned black and faded into dust. Naruto stood there, watching as the dust fluttered into the wind. His blue eyes glowing with power.

"If I'm so dead, why are you just fluttering away then," Naruto commented as he turned away.

Collapsing down afterward, blood still flowing from the wounds, Naruto took a deep breath. Son began to finally heal him, all the while the blonde slowly migrated his consciousness into the realm of the Six Paths. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, feeling his clones finally disappear after making sure everyone was okay.

One of his clones left Blake Belladonna by her Team's door.

* * *

Hagaromo was sitting by a fire, making tea for two, Naruto appeared on the tatami matt he had prepared. The elderly God leaned back, looking at him.

"You disobeyed me," The Sage of Six Paths stated. "I'm disappointed that you couldn't let sleeping dogs lie."

Naruto glared at him, "You've been lying to me, why?"

"The truth will only serve to hurt you at this time," Hagaromo offered Naruto some of the tea. "Please, take from it, it'll help you heal in the physical world."

The blonde took a deep breath, sipping the hot liquid. A warmth filled his body as he stretched, watching as souls headed toward the golden light. The Sages looked at one another, with the younger still glaring at him. Finally, relenting, Hagaromo just sighed as he prepared a third cup. The Jinchuuriki was confused but watched as they were joined by a third party. The third party sat down, leaning on his left hand as he took the cup.

The third party had red spiky hair going down to his shoulders, bright blue eyes, and a very bright smile. He greeted Hagaromo like an old friend, bowing his head respectfully before drinking from the cup. Naruto was very confused as the man's round face had three whisker marks like he did. The man finished his cup quickly, turning attention to Naruto, who looked confused.

"You look almost…" The blonde was lost for words, struggling to find the correct one.

The man chuckled, "Me? I should, but that is a very complicated talk to have isn't it, Hagaromo-san?"

Hagaromo sighed, "It would be a very complicated situation. One that I think would be easier if you would leave."

"Oh, c'mon, I just got here Datteina!" The man complained, but with a snap, Hagaromo sent away.

Naruto looked back at Hagaromo, confused enough to sit up straight. The elderly sage took a deep breath and looked at the blonde.

"Who was that, Jiji?" Naruto inquired, feeling some familiarity with him.

"That is part of the complication, Naruto, I'm sorry. You're right I have been lying to you, but it was meant to protect you. The Gods that you were warned about cannot reach me here, and I have decided it best to tell you the truth since you'll now figure it out eventually." Hagaromo took a deep breath, forming a staff from the Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him.

Tapping the watery ground around them, it suddenly rippled.

* * *

 _It revealed a Konoha with everything intact and advanced with tall buildings behind The Hokage Monument. Naruto looked on as people took cable cars and trains, a new generation of Shinobi looked over the city. That's when his eyes caught the glimpse of himself, he was buzz cut and wearing a bandage around his right arm. Naruto stared at himself as he walked down a familiar street._

"He's, I…I'm heading home?" Naruto questioned Hagaromo.

"Yes," Hagaromo sighed. "And no, Naruto…this was you after you defeated Kaguya…and came back."

"What?" Naruto stood up, confused, nearly breaking the image.

Hagaromo let a tear-out, "Just watch…"

 _The young man looked around, watching as people waved at him. Waving back at them, he stopped, quickly running into a store. He came back up with diapers, baby wipes, and carrying a bag of baby food. He smiled brightly as someone made small talk with him, and the distinctive movement of his mouth made Naruto's hair stand straight up across his body._

 _This version of him laughed and quickly broke the conversation. Running past his old home, Naruto watched as he went up to a much larger house. It was big enough to hold a family in it, and when he was about to open the door…someone else did._

 _Hinata stood at the door, holding a small blonde infant in her arms._

The image broke with Naruto screaming her name, crying out to her. The Sage watched as the area distorted as Naruto fell into a heap on his knees. Shaking his head, confused, and then looked at Hagaromo. The man frowned, watching as the younger man composed himself.

"I'm so confused," Naruto admitted as he looked at Hagaromo. "I don't understand any of this now…who am I?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, just like he was Naruto Uzumaki, you are a reincarnation. A perfect reincarnation, one who holds a complete soul of an individual that has passed and will struggle with the convergence of your soul and theirs. When you fought Kaguya, she and you breached the realm of creation, and in doing so The Gods took from your chakra to make a perfect copy of you…and her…" Naruto watched as Hagaromo stood up, holding out his staff.

"Ever since you took upon Bijuu Chakra again, the residual chakra of yours that remained in them has begun flowing back into you. It carries with its memories of a lifetime long passed, The Life of Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's Nanidame Hokage…that's what I didn't want to tell you…" Hagaromo couldn't get another word out as Naruto slugged him across the face.

Naruto roared out, "You are lying bastard!"

"This all fake, I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to go back home! I am not dead, I'm here goddamn it all, I am ALIVE!" Naruto screamed, and then fell to his knees. "This is impossible, I am Naruto Uzumaki…but I'm not…what bullshit is this? Who am I then, if I'm just a different person…?"

Hagaromo got up from the ground, nursing the bruising on his face. Naruto stayed there, knelt, and just sobbing. He finally calmed down after a while, and then just took a deep breath. He got up from the ground, watching as the ripples radiated throughout.

"So, what happens now? I…don't think I want to continue this lie anymore." Naruto spoke honestly and just kept his head low. "I guess…I guess I got my happy ending, huh?"

"In a sense," Hagaromo placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "However, just because your story ended once already, doesn't mean it can't be retold. Naruto…you'll always be who you want to be, but never forget that deep inside of you, you are still Naruto Uzumaki…The Hero."

"What do I do now, the cat's out of the bag, and I just wished…" The young man took a deep breath, "Wished it was just not there to begin with."

"You have a choice," Hagaromo stated as he held out his staff. "I'm confident that you'll pick the right one…"

Naruto took the staff, it jingled at the top, "Choice?"

"To be the Savior," Hagaromo reminded him with a smile, "Or, The Destroyer."

"That man that was here, what was his name?" Naruto asked as he looked into Hagaromo's eyes as the world began to flutter around them.

"Inari Hinokami."

* * *

Naruto woke up in a hospital bed, Ozpin looking over him. The man watched as his eyes fluttered open, and he just chuckled a little bit.

"Naruto," Ozpin sighed, "You're just a glutton for bad luck, aren't you?"


End file.
